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Record Number of Refugees Drown in Mediterranean in First Quarter of 2015

© AFP 2023 / ITALIAN NAVYClose to 500 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea during the first quarter of 2015 while trying to reach Europe.
Close to 500 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea during the first quarter of 2015 while trying to reach Europe. - Sputnik International
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Close to 500 refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea during the first quarter of 2015 while trying to reach Europe. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the main routes for migrants fleeing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East and trying to reach Europe.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — At least 486 refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of 2015 while trying to reach Europe, 10 times as many as during the equivalent period of time in 2014, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

The last year's record of 3,419 asylum seekers' deaths in the Mediterranean could be easily surpassed in 2015, according to the preliminary data provided to the newspaper by the International Organization for Migration.

Boat Carrying Migrants to Italy Sinks in Mediterranean
The death toll in the first quarter of 2015 has almost reached the total annual estimates for 2012 and 2013, when 500 and 600 refugees respectively had drowned in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the main routes for migrants fleeing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East and trying to reach Europe. At least 207,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean to find asylum in Europe in 2014, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Syrians and Eritreans make up almost 50 percent of the migrants.

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