A total 3,740 people have perished since January in the Mediterranean on the boat journey to Europe, a death toll set to exceed that of 2015 and making this year the deadliest yet, the United Nations said Tuesday.
The high loss of life comes despite a large overall fall this year in the number of people seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, the UN refugee agency UNHCR stated.
This year so far, 327,800 people have undertaken the sea voyage, of whom one in 88 have died, compared to 1 in 269 in 2015 when at least 1,015,078 people made the crossing, according to UNHCR.
On the Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy the likelihood of dying is even higher, at one death for every 47 arrivals, UNHCR noted.
A surge in crossings to Italy from North Africa, lower-quality, flimsy inflatable rafts used by people-smugglers, crossings attempted in bad weather and mass embarkations lie behind this year's dramatic leap in fatalities, the agency said.
UNHCR acknowledged "daily" efforts being made by Italy and other countries "often in difficult conditions" to save lives and the need for "continuing and robust search and rescue capacities."
But the agency urged nations to create more channels for migrants and asylum-seekers to enter Europe legally instead risking their lives aboard unsafe people-smuggling boats.
Such channels include enhanced resettlement and humanitarian admissions, family reunification, private sponsorship, and humanitarian, student and work visas for refugees, UNHCR said.
