According to IOM estimates, the latest discovery of 39 bodies washed up on Libyan shores this week brings the number of casualties to over 3,034 among the migrants and refugees who attempted to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2016. This year’s total so far, is significantly higher compared to last year as of end of July 2015, when 1,917 had lost their lives at sea.

At the same time, the total number of arrivals by sea in Europe is only slightly higher than the same period in 2015 (with nearly the same number of arrivals registered in Italy).

One of the reasons behind the increase in migrant deaths is linked to the exceptional flow of arrivals and the high number of migrants – about 1,000 victims over a tragic few days – lost at sea in the last week of May 2016.

KJ