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Nearly 355,000 migrants reach EU via Mediterranean in 2016: IOM

Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 354,804 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe so far this year, down from some 933,000 arrivals over the same period in 2015, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday.

While migrant entries by sea are significantly lower in 2016, IOM revealed that this year has been considerably more dangerous for those seeking to reach European shores.

According to latest figures, 4,742 men, women and children have drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, compared with 3,665 deaths recorded over the same period last year.

Most fatalities since January have been documented on the central Mediterranean route linking North Africa with Italy, where 4,244 people have lost their lives.

A further 429 individuals have perished on the eastern Mediterranean passage between Turkey and Greece, while 69 have died on western routes.

Italy has received the most maritime migrant entries this year (176,678), followed closely by Greece (172,681), with Spain and Cyprus accounting for the remaining arrivals. Enditem