Migrant, Refugee Arrivals, Deaths on Rise Amid Worsening Weather

Geneva (PNA/Xinhua) — Latest figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday reveal that migrant and refugee sea arrivals in Europe total 704,227 so far this year.

The vast majority of individuals reaching European shores choose Greece, a country which has seen 560,683 maritime arrivals in 2015, as their point of entry into Europe, while other EU destinations include Italy (139,594 arrivals), Spain (3,845) and Malta (105).

Statistics show that the Central Mediterranean route is the most dangerous passage with 2,860 deaths to date, followed by the Eastern Mediterranean route (368) and the Western Mediterranean passage (29).

Worsening weather conditions is not deterring refugees and migrants from braving crossings IOM explained, as shows the continued influx of refugees and migrants onto Greek islands.

Despite increasingly strong winds, over 9,000 people arrived in Greece over the weekend according to IOM, with figures showing that some 160,000 migrants and refugees have crossed into Greece from Turkey so far this month.

Of these, some 99,000 arrived on the island of Lesvos, 22,000 on Chios, 21,500 on Samos and about 7,500 on Leros.

Amid this protracted influx and the arrival of winter weather, tragedies at sea are rife. The Libyan Red Crescent reported another incident of a boat capsizing possibly because of bad weather, resulting in over 40 corpses being washed up on Libyan beaches.

“We know how many people arrive in Italy, but we will never know how many people actually depart from Libya. We think that there are shipwrecks that remain unknown and unfortunately the total of 2,860 recorded deaths in the Mediterranean is probably an underestimation,” said IOM spokesperson in Italy Flavio Di Giacomo.

A total of 3,257 deaths have been recorded in the Mediterranean in 2015 compared to 3,149 for the whole of last year. (PNA/Xinhua) JBP/EBP