Every day five migrants die on European routes, IOM reports

Despite the tough restrictions and lockdowns due to the coronavirus between the countries, at least 1,773 migrants died within and en route to Europe this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on 18 December. That means every day at least five deaths were recorded.

A total of 729 deaths had been confirmed in the central Mediterranean alone, and  “these are the ones we know about and the number of lives lost on the crossing are much higher”, said the IOM’s Safa Msehli.

According to the Director of IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, Frank Laczko, “People continue to lose their lives on irregular migration journeys despite the extensive travel restrictions in 2020, showing the need for more safe, legal migration options”. 

TMP _ 22/12/2020

Photo credit: Aleksandra H. Kossowska

Photo caption: MOLYVOS, GREECE – SEP 29, 2019: Lifevests and rubber boats, abandoned by migrants who have made the crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos