UN: Migrant deaths on sea routes to Europe more than double

Jul 14, 20210

Bruno Thevenin, Associated Press count

In this Feb. 12, 2021, photo, migrants and refugees from various countries wait for assistance aboard an overcrowded wooden boat, as aid workers of the Spanish NGO Open Arms approach them in the Mediterranean Sea, international waters, at 122 miles off the Libyan coast. The United Nations' migration agency said Wednesday July 13, 2021, that at least 1,146 people died in the first six months of 2021, attempting to reach Europe on dangerous sea crossings, more than twice as many as in the same period last year.

BARCELONA, Spain - The number of migrants and refugees who died while attempting to reach Europe on dangerous sea crossings more than doubled so far this year compared to the first six months of 2020, the United Nations' migration agency said in a new report.

At least 1,146 people perished between January and June, according to the International Organization for Migration. The number of people traveling on sea routes to Europe also increased, but only by 56%, the IOM's report said.

The Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy was the deadliest, claiming 741 lives. Next was the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and Spain's Canary Islands, where at least 250 people died, the agency said. At least 149 people also died on the Western Mediterranean route to Spain, as well as at least six on the Eastern Mediterranean route to Greece.

https://www.startribune.com/un-migrant-deaths-on-sea-routes-to-europe-more-than-double/600077715/