Over 100,000 migrants arrive in Europe by Mediterranean route this year – IOM

More than 100,000 people arrived in Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, since the beginning of 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “As of November 4, 100,630 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea,” TASS quoted spokesman Joel Millman as saying in Geneva on Tuesday. For the fifth consecutive year, the number of arrivals exceeds the 100,000 mark, he said, adding that in previous years this threshold was reached much earlier in the year. At least 1989 people died or were missing in the Mediterranean Sea this year, he said. Since the beginning of the year, Spain received 49,013 migrants and refugees. It is followed by Greece with 27,715 arrivals, Italy (22,167), Malta (989) and Cyprus (746). During this period in 2016, about 340,000 people arrived to Europe via this route.