The latest figures released by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimate that over three thousand migrants have died at seas the past 12 months in their quest for a safe haven.
According to the current estimate, 3,771 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe last year.
The final number for 2015 was released on Tuesday and is up from the the 3,692 figure the agency released before Christmas.
The IOM said last year was the deadliest on record for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, with the number of deaths rising from 3,279 in 2014.
At the same time, there was an enormous increase last year in people making the often-dangerous crossing.
The IOM’s final tally for the number of people who arrived in Europe by sea last year was 1,004,356 — almost a fivefold increase over the previous year’s 219,000.
The agency went on to say that 77 per cent of the deaths were on the central Mediterranean route, involving individuals who were mainly crossing from Libya.
Source: Kathimerini