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245 people feared dead trying to cross the Mediterranean

Xinhua, May 9, 2017 Adjust font size:

The UN Refugee Agency believed on Tuesday that 245 people were feared dead while trying to cross the Mediterranean, a UN spokesperson has said.

The Agency said they had received alarming information on two shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the daily news briefing.

"The first took place on Friday night, with some 82 people feared dead or missing," said Dujarric. Another shipwreck took place off the coast of Libya on Sunday, with some 163 people feared dead or missing, he said.

This brings the total number of people believed to have died or missing while trying to reach Italy from North Africa to more than 1,300 since early this year, he said.

So far this year, more than 43,000 migrants and asylum seekers have used the Central Mediterranean route to reach Italy, according to the spokesperson. Endit