409 Migrants Have Died Crossing the Mediterranean in 2016
More than 400 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year. Nearly 10 times as many migrants per day tried to make the dangerous crossing in the first six weeks of 2016 compared to the same period the year before, and 409 of them have died, according to the International Organization for Migration IOM. In all, the group recorded 76,000 people reaching Europe's shores since Jan. 1, at a rate of nearly 2,000 a day. Over 75 of the deaths have been on the Eastern Mediterranean route connecting Turkey to Greece, which traditionally sees far fewer deaths compared to the longer central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy, reports the New York Times. The news comes a day after 27 migrants died while trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos. The IOM also expect Greece to receive its 1 millionth migrant since the beginning of 2015 sometime in March.