Over 5,000 refugees drowned in Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe
20:48, 6 January 2017
BRUSSELS. KAZINFORM More than 363,000 migrants and refugees arrived in 2016 in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, while over 5,000 people died on this way, Kazinform correspondent reports citing the report of the International Organization for Migration.
According to IOM, 363,248 migrants and refugees came to Europe by sea in 12 months. Most of them were accepted by Italy (181,436) and by Greece (173,561).
5,079 migrants and refugees died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe. Meanwhile, IOM report highlights that some incidents were not taken into account and the actual number of victims can be higher.
“2016 year became probably the deadliest year registered by IOM in the region,” the Organization noted.