Number of refugee and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean shocking

A total of 2,856 refugees and migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year while trying to reach Europe, International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said.

A new report by IOM shows that the same period last year only 1,838 deaths had been reported. This means that fatalities in the Mediterranean in 2016 are over 1,000 more than last year’s mid-year total.

By 8th June 2016, about 207,260 migrants and refugees had entered Europe by sea, arriving in Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

IOM’s total estimate of fatalities has risen since earlier this week due to new data from Spain indicating that at least 40 migrants have perished in Western Mediterranean waters since the start of this year.

The worst incident IOM has learned of occurred in early March, when 20 migrants who left North Africa are believed to have drowned when their craft foundered.

IOM has also learned of incidents in April and May, in which fatalities of six and five migrants, respectively, were reported.

Looking at these figures, the question that comes to mind is: why can’t European authorities act to stop migrant deaths in Mediterranean?

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