Italy - IOM reports that 270,576 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2016 through 24 August, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy, where 105,342 migrants or refugees have arrived during 2016.

This total is slightly lower than the number recorded through 2015’s first eight months, when a total of 354,618 arrivals were recorded crossing the Mediterranean, the majority from Turkey to Greece.

Mediterranean fatalities among migrants and refugees stood at 3,165 through last weekend, or 509 more than IOM reported through 2015’s first eight months.

IOM Rome reported on Thursday about 1,200 migrants have been rescued in the Channel of Sicily since IOM’s last report on August 23.

For latest arrivals and fatalities in the Mediterranean, please visit: http://migration.iom.int/europe
Learn more about Missing Migrants Project at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int

For further information please contact:
Flavio Di Giacomo at IOM Italy, Tel: +39 347 089 8996, Email: fdigiacomo@iom.int
IOM Greece: Daniel Esdras, Tel: +30 210 9912174, Email:  iomathens@iom.int or Kelly Namia, Tel: +30 210 9919040, +30 210 9912174, Email: knamia@iom.int
Julia Black, Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, Tel: +49 30 278 778 27, Email: jblack@iom.int
Abby Dwommoh at IOM Turkey, Tel: +903124551202, Email: adwommoh@iom.int
Amr Taha at IOM Egypt. Tel: +202-27365140, Email: iomegypt@iom.int
Joel Millman at IOM Geneva, Tel: +41.79.103-8720, Email: jmillman@iom.int
IOM Libya. Othman Belbeisi, Tel +216 29 600389, Email: obelbeisi@iom.int or Ashraf Hassan, Tel: +216297 94707, Email: ashassan@iom.int