A record number of people have attempted the deadly pathway to reach the European Union (EU) through illegal Mediterranean Sea routes in the first quarter of this year.
This has resulted to a record number of deaths since 2017, according to figures presented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
There are three Mediterranean Sea routes into Europe. The central Mediterranean is most often used by those crossing from North Africa into Italy.
Migrants travel from the shores of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria.
According to IOM, Tunisia is the latest frontier, contributing about 60% of those crossing into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) this week said the central route was the most popular one, accounting for 28 000 of all arrivals via the sea.
It said the reason was the lack of strong institutions in the countries from where they were coming.
“Organised crime groups took advantage of better weather and political volatility in some countries of departure to try to smuggle as many migrants as possible across the central Mediterranean from Tunisia and Libya,” Frontext said in a statement.
But IOM blames the record number of deaths on governments’ unwillingness to help illegal travellers.
IOM director general António Vitorino in a press release said:
The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable. With more than 20 000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalised. States must respond. Delays and gaps in state-led search and rescue efforts are costing human lives.
The western part of the Mediterranean is used by people arriving in Spain from Morocco. They travel from Morroco because, at its closest point, the distance between France and Morocco measures 14.4km.
The eastern Mediterranean, which has no link with Africa, is used for traffic between Turkey and Greece, as well as Cyprus and Bulgaria.
IOM’s Julia Black, who works with the Missing Migrants Project, in an interview said the majority of people who crossed into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea were from Africa, and that the highest number of deaths were also recorded among Africans.
She said:
We have recorded 580 total deaths in the Mediterranean, out of which 273 are identified. Less than half of those who died were identified. Of those 273 identified, 176 people were from Africa, which is 64.5% out of the total people identified.
The figures are for January to early April.
Last week, Alarm Phone, an independent support for people crossing the Mediterranean Sea to the EU, reported that there were 400 people stranded near the coast of Malta.
They have since been rescued by the Italian Coastguard and taken to Vibo Valentia, a town in southern Italy where they are receiving medical care. But there are some boats that don’t make it through.
On Tuesday, Refugees in Libya an organisation that supports asylum seekers, said an overcrowded boat carrying 123 people – including 30 women, 13 children and babies – had sunk at about 22:00 hours Monday night.
More than 60 crew members disappeared. The boat left the Tunisian coast on Wednesday at 18:00.
Migration into Europe, with Italy as the first host country where refugees enter, has caused strain on the government.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is not favourable to open migration, in March vowed to stiffen punishments to deter smugglers, after a wooden boat packed with migrants from Africa broke apart, leading to a disaster.
