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Mediterranean Migrants: Latest Developments

Greece - IOM Greece is reporting that a boat carrying some 20 migrants capsized this morning off the Greek island of Kos, leaving nine migrants dead. Two of the victims were children aged seven and 14.  Seven people were rescued.

“The Hellenic Coast Guard has recovered nine bodies, but four others may be missing and search operations are continuing,’’ said Kelly Namia, an IOM Athens spokesperson.

Tuesday’s tragedy brings to at least 562 the number of migrant and refugee fatalities in the Eastern Mediterranean this year. It brings to 3,515 the total of all migrant and refugee fatalities across all sea-borne routes to Europe in 2015.

IOM notes that the nearly 600 drownings off the coasts of Greece and Turkey so far this year equal the total number of all deaths in the Mediterranean in 2013. This year’s death toll already has surpassed the 3,279 that IOM’s Missing Migrants project recorded for all of 2014.

Migrant flows from Turkey to the Greek islands have remained high over the past two weeks with over 70,000 migrants and refugees arriving in Greece since the beginning of November, according to IOM estimates. 

The highest monthly number of arrivals in Greece this year was in October, when 214,000 people arrived on Greece’s beaches. This compares to 31,318 in June, 65,998 in July, 108,248 in August and 147,671 in September.

Recent weeks have also seen a shift away from the small, plastic boats used by smugglers during the calmer summer months to larger, wooden fishing vessels. These can carry 100 people at a time. 

According IOM’s Early Warning Information Sharing Network, which covers Greece and the Western Balkans, the number people crossing Greece’s border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in the first ten days of November decreased by 30 per cent compared to the previous ten days, when 66,200 crossings were recorded.

This was largely due to the strikes on shipping routes which stopped migrants leaving the islands for the mainland. But the Idomeni transit camp at the border is still operating beyond its capacity.

According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Flow Monitoring System for the period 2-9 November, 51 per cent of the migrants crossing the border were adult males, 18 per cent women and 31 per cent children. The majority claimed to be Syrians, followed by Afghans and Iraqis.

For the latest Mediterranean Update data on arrivals and fatalities please visit: http://migration.iom.int/europe

For further information please contact IOM Greece. Daniel Esdras, Tel: +30.2109912174, Email: iomathens@iom.int  or Kelly Namia, Tel: +30.2109919040, +30.2109912174, Email: knamia@iom.int

 

Mediterranean Developments
Arrivals by sea and deaths in the Mediterranean: 1 Jan. – 16 Nov. 2015

Country of Arrival

Arrivals

Deaths

Italy

142,484 (IOM est.)

2,870

(Central Med route)

Malta

106

Greece

685,758

  562

(Eastern Med route)

Spain

3,845

   82

(Western Med and Western African routes)

Estimated Total

832,193

3,514 *

                       

Arrivals estimates based on data from respective governments and IOM field offices.
* As of 14 November figures for Greece derived from new and updated data collected by IOM staff in Greece and Greek authorities (1/1/2015 – 15/11/2015).  Data for Italy as of 30 October is based on the information circulated by the Italian Ministry of Interior (MoI). Arrivals from 1 November onwards are IOM estimates. Data for Spain is until 15 October 2015, while data for Malta is until 27 October.

Arrivals BY SEA TO Italy

1 January – 16 November 2015

142,484 *

*Data as of 30 October based on the information circulated by the Italian MoI. Arrivals from 1 November onwards are IOM estimates.

·       Two landings took place since our last report. On the 14th of November, 407 migrants rescued in four different operations were brought to Catania, and 300 to Pozzallo.

Ø  October 2015: Total 8,916 (Data provided by Italian MoI)
Ø  November 2015: Total 1,497 (IOM estimate as of 16 November)

·        2014 Total: 170,100 arrived in Italy

 

Arrivals by sea to Italy
January to October 2014/2015
(Source: Italian MoI)

 

 

2014

2015

 

January

2,171

3,528

 

February

3,335

4,354

 

March

5,459

2,283

 

April

15,679

16,063

 

May

14,599

21,221

 

June

22,641

22,905

 

July

24,031

23,186

 

August

24,774

22,607

 

September

26,107

15,922

 

October

15,393

8,916

 

TOTAL

154,189

140,987

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrivals by sea to Italy - Main Countries of Origin
January – October 2014/2015
(Source: Italian MoI)

 

 

Main Countries of Origin

2014

2015

 

 

Eritrea

32,537

37,796

 

 

Nigeria

6,951

19,576

 

 

Somalia

4,113

11,020

 

 

Sudan

2,370

8,692

 

 

Syria

32,681

7,232

 

 

Gambia

6,179

6,759

 

 

Total: All Countries of Origin

154,189

140,987

 

 

               

 

Arrivals BY SEA TO GREECE

1 January – 15 November 2015

685,758*

* Unofficial data regarding exclusively so-called “blue” borders, derived from data collected by IOM staff in Greece and the Greek authorities (1/1/2015-15/11/2015.)

Ø  5,287 arrivals have been registered on 15 November. Numbers are not the actual daily arrivals, but the number of migrants who have officially been recorded by the Greek authorities after their arrival. This procedure may take a few days.

Ø  Main landing points: the islands of Lesvos, Kos, Samos, Rhodes, Kalymnos, Megisti, Leros and Chios.

Ø  IOM staff is present in the islands of Crete, Samos, Kos and Lesvos, working closely with authorities to identify vulnerable migrants including unaccompanied minors, elderly migrants, migrants with medical needs and families with children. Vulnerable groups are referred to authorities in order to be provided with the necessary care.

·       2014 Totals: 34,442 arrived by sea to Greece between 1 Jan. -31 Dec. 2014.
Ø  September 2015: Total 147,671
Ø  October 2015: Total  217,936

Arrivals by sea to GREECE January – October 2015

Main Countries of Origin

Tot.

Syria

388,130

Afghanistan

142,301

Iraq

44,349

Pakistan

17,881

Iran

10,286

Total: All Countries of Origin

608,325

 

For further information, please contact Flavio Di Giacomo at IOM Italy, Tel: +39 347 089 8996, Email: fdigiacomo@iom.intor IOM Greece. Daniel Esdras, Tel: +30 210 9912174, Email: iomathens@iom.int or Kelly Namia, Tel: +302109919040, +302109912174, Email: knamia@iom.int