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Nearly 5,500 maritime migrants reach Europe in 1st month of 2017: IOM

Xinhua, January 31, 2017 Adjust font size:

A total of 5,483 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe since the beginning of the year, down from 67,375 through the first 29 days of 2016, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday.

Most entries this year were registered in Italy, where 4,292 migrants have arrived since Jan. 1, with the remaining 1,191 individuals landing on Greek shores.

According to the latest IOM figures, 253 people have drowned at sea attempting to reach European shores so far this year.

Most deaths (227) were documented on the central Mediterranean passage linking North Africa with Italy, with the remaining fatalities recorded on western and eastern Mediterranean sea routes.

Some 363,348 migrants and refugees reached Europe in 2016, a year which saw a record 5,079 people lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Endit