Crossings of Mediterranean Sea exceed 300,000, including 200,000 to Greece
The Mediterranean Sea continues to be the deadliest route for refugees and migrants.
GENEVA, Aug 28 (UNHCR) - More than 300,000 refugees and migrants have used the dangerous sea route across the Mediterranean so far this year with almost 200,000 of them landing in Greece and a further 110,000 in Italy.
The UN refugee agency, revealing the latest statistics in Geneva on Friday, said this represents a large increase from last year, when around 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean during the whole of 2014.
"At the same time, some 2,500 refugees and migrants are estimated to have died or gone missing this year, trying to reach Europe. This death toll does not include yesterday's tragedy off Libya where numbers of deaths are still unconfirmed," UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a press briefing in Geneva.
Last year some 3,500 people died or were reported missing in the Mediterranean Sea.
Fleming said that despite the concerted efforts of the joint European search and rescue operation under FRONTEX, which has saved tens of thousands of lives this year, the Mediterranean Sea continues to be the "deadliest route for refugees and migrants".
She added that in the last few days, even more people had lost their lives in three separate incidents.
The Libyan Coast Guard carried two rescue operations on Thursday morning, seven miles off the port town of Zwara. Two boats carrying an approximate total of 500 refugees and migrants were intercepted and survivors taken to shore in Libya.
"An estimated 200 people are still missing and feared dead. A still undetermined number of bodies were recovered and taken to shore. The Libyan Red Crescent has been helping with the collection of the bodies," Fleming added.
On Wednesday (26 August), rescuers coming to the aid of another boat off the Libyan coast found 51 people dead from suffocation in the hold.
"According to survivors, smugglers were charging people money for allowing them to come out of the hold in order to breathe," Fleming detailed.
She quoted one survivor, Abdel, 25, from Sudan as saying: "We didn't want to go down there but they beat us with sticks to force us. We had no air so we were trying to get back up through the hatch and to breathe through the cracks in the ceiling. But the other passengers were scared the boat would capsize so they pushed us back down and beat us too. Some were stamping on our hands."
Fleming said that last week (15 August), the bodies of 49 persons were found in the hold of another boat in a similar but separate incident. They are thought to have died after inhaling poisonous fumes.
Also that week, a rubber dinghy carrying some 145 refugees and migrants ran into trouble when the person steering it made a manoeuvre that caused the dinghy to tilt dangerously to one side.
"Some people fell into the sea and two men jumped into the water to rescue them. Panic ensued and people began to jostle and shove and, as a result, three women were crushed to death on the dinghy," Fleming said.
Of those who fell in the water, 18 are still missing and believed to have drowned. The survivors were rescued and taken to Lampedusa, including a two-month old baby of one of the women who died. Most of the survivors are reported to be in a critical condition, suffering from shock, cuts and bruises.
Many of the people arriving by sea in southern Europe, particularly in Greece, come from countries affected by violence and conflict, such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan; they are in need of international protection and they are often physically exhausted and psychologically traumatized.
UNHCR appeals to all governments involved to provide comprehensive responses and act with humanity and in accordance with their international obligations.
All European countries and the EU must act together in response to the growing emergency and demonstrate responsibility and solidarity.
By Melissa Fleming, Geneva
Related news and stories
Ukraine's refugees find long-term support in Europe's host countries
AU, EU and UN push for urgent action to address the pressing needs of migrants and refugees in Libya
Earthquake survivors in Türkiye count the devastating toll
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Visiting earthquake-ravaged areas of Türkiye and Syria, UNHCR's Grandi urges more support for survivors trying to rebuild
Your search for « mediterranean deadliest » matched 55 results. Displaying page 6 of 7 pages.
-
Statement by Volker Türk, Director of International Protection to the 65th Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme
3 Oct 2014 ... ... Three weeks ago saw the deadliest weekend in the Mediterranean, with at least 500 dead or gone missing in three days. In many countries, mixed and irregular movements, including across seas, pose ...... -
French village sets an example of how to welcome refugees
28 Jan 2019 ... ... the Mediterranean and stresses how people like Alfatih have had to face increased dangers of kidnapping and torture for ransom, and the threat from traffickers even before facing the deadliest sea ...... -
On this journey, no one cares if you live or die.' Abuse, protection, and justice along routes between East and West Africa and Africa's Mediterranean coast
29 Jul 2020 ... ... As refugees and migrants travel along the Central Mediterranean route to Libya, many continue to be ... It remains one of the deadliest land crossings in the world. This report draws on data collected by ...... -
Refugee survivors of sexual abuse find help in Rwanda
29 Jul 2020 ... ... She recounts vividly how last July, the smugglers finally took 350 of them to the Mediterranean ... About 150 people died in the incident – one of the deadliest shipwrecks in recent years. Out of ...... -
UNHCR urges Malta to provide medical care for survivors of capsizing
28 Aug 2008 ... African migrants rescued this week after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta. ... If no more survivors are found, this would be one of the deadliest losses at sea involving people ...... -
"The changing face of global displacement: responses and responsibilities"; Address to the Lowy Institute for International Policy, by António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
21 Feb 2012 ... ... The Mediterranean, where more than 57,000 people arrived by boat in Italy and Malta last year, has become the world's deadliest stretch of water for migrants and refugees, claiming an estimated 1,500 ...... -
Athens DNA lab helps trace those lost at sea on Aegean crossing
5 Apr 2016 ... It's as though the souls continue to hover." About 4,400 people have died in the Mediterranean since ... when a total of 221 people died, the deadliest month on record in 2015 for the crossing to Greece. ...... -
Refugees Magazine Issue 141: Forgotten No Longer?
1 Dec 2005 ... ... trying to gate-crash Europe across the Mediterranean Sea and through several Spanish enclaves on ... It was one of the deadliest earthquakes ever recorded, lasting nearly 10 minutes compared to a ...... -
Remarks at the Camden Conference on Refugees and Global Migration, in Camden, Maine
19 Feb 2017 ... ... was followed by a war that would eventually escalate into the deadliest conflict in human history. ... forced to resort to smuggling networks operating in the Eastern and South Eastern Mediterranean. ......