Nearly 700 migrants drowned in 2019 | The last inc …

At least 683 migrants died in 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea, according to figures released today by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The deaths occurred mainly in the three main flyways of the Mediterranean, especially in the western route.

On the central route leaving Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to Italy, 426 migrants died; Another 53 are counted on the east road, which leads to Greece; and 204 on the west route, according to the United Nations (UN) agency

"The deaths recorded on the three major routes of the Mediterranean Sea during these 199 days of 2019 reach 683 people, about 47% less than those confirmed during the same period in 2018," explained the l. IOM in a statement. .

Spain has become the most sought-after destination after the Italian government has toughened its policy against migrants. Italy has reached an agreement with the Libyan coastguard to prevent refugees and asylum seekers from entering its shores.

Although monthly arrivals in Spain have been reduced compared to the previous year, the number of deaths on the western Mediterranean route remains high. There, the number of deaths reached 204 for just over six months this year, up from 296 in 2018, said IOM. The data comes from the Missing Migrant Project, which since 2014 systematically records deaths on migratory routes around the world.

Since then, 32,362 migrants have been killed, although "because of the difficulties in collecting information about these people and the context of their deaths, the actual number of lives lost during migration is likely to be much greater", said the organization. .

The last fatal incident in the Mediterranean was recorded two days ago. The death of a woman was registered by the NGO Caminando Fronteras, which runs a direct line for people in danger trying to cross the sea from North Africa. During the search operation conducted by the rescue services in Spain, 73 people, including 23 women, were rescued from a shipwreck in the Alboran Sea. They also recovered the body of a woman. A total of 276 migrants were rescued from four boats on the same day: three boats were hit by Spanish rescue services, which took the survivors to Almería; and a fourth ship was saved by the Moroccan navy.

IOM also reported that 34,226 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea on 17 July this year, about 34% less than the 51,782 who arrived at the same time in the year. latest.