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Marked drop in Mediterranean migrant arrivals to EU this year: IOM

Xinhua, March 31, 2017 Adjust font size:

A total of 27,850 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea since the beginning of the year, down from almost 165,700 arrivals over the same period last year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported Friday.

Most of those who have entered Europe by sea so far in 2017 have done so via Italy, a country which has seen 23,125 individuals reach its shores through to March 29.

A further 4,725 have reached Greece and Spain.

While the number of maritime arrivals to Europe is significantly lower this year, the number of fatalities remains relatively high.

IOM's latest figures reveal that 655 people have lost their lives attempting to reach Europe by sea since the start of 2017, mostly on the central Mediterranean route linking North Africa with Italy.

This compares to 488 individuals reported lost over the same period in 2015, and 749 deaths in the first three months of 2016. Endit