Counting migrant deaths: An international overview

On 3 October 2013, over 360 people lost their lives travelling from Libya to Lampedusa, Italy, when their boat sank just a quarter-mile from its destination. With roughly 500 passengers jammed into a 20-metre-long boat, efforts to attract attention following engine trouble led to a fire that engulfed the ship in flames. Survivors tell horrifying stories of hours spent in the sea as their companions died around them. A second shipwreck near Lampedusa later in the month resulted in a further 34 deaths. While these events are tragic and alarming, they are not isolated incidents. IOM estimates that between January and September 2014, at least 4,077 migrants died attempting to reach destinations around the world. This figure is nearly 70 per cent higher than the 2,400 deaths recorded for the whole of 2013, largely driven by increases in the Mediterranean region. Since year 2000, IOM estimates that at least 40,000 migrants have died.

Related Subject(s): Migration