Number of dead and missing migrants in the Mediterranean in January is twice last year's figure

An installation created by the Milan's municipality in memory of a fishing boat packed with some 500 African migrants which capsized in 2013 off the shores of Lampedusa. - Copyright AP Photo/Luca Bruno

By Euronews

Published on 31/01/2024 - 12:41

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The toll of the dangerous crossing in the Mediterranean Sea continues to rise.

Nearly 100 migrants died or went missing in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea in the month of January, more than double the number reported in the same timeframe last year.

The findings were reported by the UN migration agency on Monday, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), during the Italy-Africa summit in Rome.

On its opening day, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni presented a plan for Africa’s development which her government hopes will curb migration from the continent to Europe.

“The latest record of deaths and disappearances is a stark reminder that a comprehensive approach that includes safe and regular pathways [...] is the only solution that will benefit migrants and states alike,” Amy Pope, director general of the IOM, said during the summit.

According to the IOM's figures, the number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea has risen significantly in the past year. The organisation’s Missing Migrants Project found that 3,041 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean Sea in 2023, a sharp rise from from 2,411 in 2022, and the highest number since 2017.

Since 2014, a total of 28,893 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea, the IOM reports. The route with the highest number of dead and missing migrants was the one through the Central Mediterranean, with 22,824.

The latest reported incident occurred off the coast of Torre Salsa, Agrigento, on Italy’s island of Sicily. One person, a Tunisian national, died of drowning.

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