https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2016/10/25/sea-journey-increasingly-deadly-for-migrants/IetLcQKnfjamzMztRdQanI/story.html
Sea journey increasingly deadly for migrants
By Nick Cumming-Bruce NEW YORK TIMES OCTOBER 26, 2016
GENEVA — The harrowing journey across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe has become increasingly deadly for asylum seekers desperate to find a better life.
Nearly as many migrants have died at sea this year as all of last year, even though far fewer have attempted the perilous crossing, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.
“This is by far the worst we have ever seen,” said William Spindler, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The sharp rise in fatalities — 3,740 people have died so far in 2016 — can be attributed in part to the changing, more dangerous tactics used by smugglers. They are loading thousands of people at a time and using less seaworthy boats, including inflatable rubber rafts that do not last the crossing.
“Smuggling has become big business: It’s being done on an almost industrial scale,” Spindler told reporters.
The smugglers are trying to raise profits and reduce the risk of detection, he said.
So far this year, 327,800 people have crossed the Mediterranean, about half the number who crossed in the same period last year, and some have attempted to cross several times.
Most migrants are heading to Italy, desperate to flee conflict or hardship in Nigeria, Eritrea, and other African countries. They expect to be turned back and make several tries to get across the Mediterranean, said Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration.
The smugglers are straining the capacity of rescue services to cope. The Italian navy and coast guard rescued more than 6,000 migrants in a single day early this month and on Monday pulled 2,200 more to safety in 21 rescue operations.
Among the latest casualties were four migrants said to have drowned after a speedboat identified as belonging to the Libyan coast guard attacked a rubber dinghy packed with around 150 people on Friday. The dinghy’s inflated tubes collapsed and most of the passengers fell into the sea.
The Libyan coast guard has denied any involvement, but Sea-Watch, a rescue organization that retrieved four bodies and rescued around 120 people afterward, says the speedboat was labeled Libyan coast guard.
https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/05/14/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/2015-05-13T163956Z_522957682_GF10000093504_RTRMADP_3_EUROPE-MIGRANTS-PROPOSAL.jpg
In this photograph taken in May 2015, Royal Marines lead dozens of migrants to safety on a landing craft of the HMS Bulwark after their rescue from the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and North Africa. So far this year, an estimated 328,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean, about half the number who crossed in the same period last year, But 2016 fatalities stand at 3,740, nearly as many as all of 2015.
Received on Wed Oct 26 2016 - 11:37:20 EDT
