Migrant Arrivals by Sea in Europe Exceed 262,000 in 2016 So Far - IOM

A handout provided by the Italian Coast Guard on 31 July 2016 showing a rescue operation, south of Lampedusa island, in the Mediterranean Sea on 30 July 2016 where the Italian `Iuventa` coast guard vessel rescued 128 migrants from a boat. EPA/BGNES

A total of 262,039 migrants or refugees entered Europe by sea in 2016 through August 3, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday.

The number of fatalities at sea through August 3 (3,132) has already exceeded the total for the first eight months of 2015 (2,754).

While the number of arrivals in Italy between January 1 and August 3 was 99,020, close to last year’s total of 97,990 during the same period, arrivals in Greece have decreased considerably, the IOM said.  

A total of 1,856 migrants or refugees arrived in Greece in July - the third straight month in 2016 when arrivals were fewer than 2,000. There were slightly over 50,000 arrivals on average in each of the first three months of the year, before the EU struck a deal on migration with Turkey on 18 March.

 

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