(ANSAmed) - GENEVA, MAY 8 - Since the start of the year, 81
''boat people'' fleeing from Libya have died in the
Mediterranean Sea according to the most recent figures released
by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
After the most recent tragedy at sea, which saw seven Somali
refugees lose their lives before their boat reached the coast of
Malta on Saturday, the number of people who have died or who are
listed as missing at sea during the exodus from Libya to Europe
has risen this year to 81, ''equivalent to 2 people every three
days on average'', said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards today in
Geneva. The spokesman reported the accounts of the 90 survivors
of the journey who arrived on Malta in a fatigued state on
Saturday.
According to survivor accounts, five men and two women died during the trip, said Edwards. This is the fourth immigrant boat to land on Malta since the start of the year, bringing the total number of people who have arrived on the island to 210. During the same period, 45 boats arrived on Italian shores. Around 2,200 people have arrived in total. The UNHCR estimates that about 1,500 people died during their attempt to arrive to Europe by sea from North Africa last year. (ANSAmed).
According to survivor accounts, five men and two women died during the trip, said Edwards. This is the fourth immigrant boat to land on Malta since the start of the year, bringing the total number of people who have arrived on the island to 210. During the same period, 45 boats arrived on Italian shores. Around 2,200 people have arrived in total. The UNHCR estimates that about 1,500 people died during their attempt to arrive to Europe by sea from North Africa last year. (ANSAmed).
