migration
2023 Hundreds of migrants drowned in the eastern Mediterranean
Several migrants sit in a boat in the Mediterranean while rescue workers try to help them. photo
© Antonio Sempere/EUROPA PRESS/dpa
According to the UN refugee agency, 710 migrants died in the eastern Mediterranean last year. The number has doubled compared to the previous year.
According to the UN refugee agency, 710 people tried to reach the EU last year Migrants have died in the eastern Mediterranean or are still missing.
According to UNHCR statistics, the number of victims has doubled compared to the previous year. EU countries with coasts in the Eastern Mediterranean are the island republic of Cyprus and Greece. In addition, migrants – for example from countries in the Middle East or North Africa – try to get past southern Greece directly to Italy.
According to statistics, the number of people who crossed irregularly from the Turkish west coast to Greece or entered the EU via the Turkish-Greek border doubled compared to the previous year to around 48,744 migrants.
In the first two weeks of the year, an average of around 100 people crossed irregularly from Turkey to Greece every day, as UNCHR announced on Thursday. Greek coast guard officers assume the number of unreported cases is much larger.