Refugees and migrants arrive in an overloaded rubber dinghy on the Greek island of Lesvos, Greece, 15 December 2015 after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. Photo: EPA/BGNES
Nearly 37,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy and Greece by sea in the first 21 days of 2016 - about 10 times 2015’s total on this date, the International Organsiation for Migration has said.
“For Greece and the Western Balkans, the increase is well over 20 times 2015’s total on this date,” the IOM has said on its website.
IOM has also reported that with 113 deaths of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean already registered in the first 21 days of January this the deadliest January on record. There were 12 migrant deaths recorded in January 2014 and 82 in January 2015, according to IOM statistics.