The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Friday said nearly 3,000 migrants and refugees had already perished in the Mediterranean this year, while almost 250,000 had reached Europe.
IOM spokesman Joel Millman told newsmen that the death toll stood at an estimated 2,977, adding that the 3,000 benchmark had been reached earlier than in previous years of the four-year emergency.
“This is the earliest; it was Sept. 2014 and Oct. 2015.
“In the four months since late March, about 20 migrants have been dying each day, mainly sub-Saharan Africans along the route from Libya to Italy,” Millman added.
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