Rome, Jan 20 (IANS/AKI) A total of 3,156 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea this year through January 18, as massive drop compared with the 32,317 in the same period of 2016, the International Organisation for Migration said on Friday.
Over three-quarters of this year's arrivals were in Italy and the rest in Greece, IOM said.
The IOM estimated that 234 people perished on the Mediterranean crossing through January 18 this year, more than double the 101 in the same period of 2016.
This estimate includes the first death at sea in 2017 of a migrant on the Eastern Mediterranean route connecting Turkey to Greece.
A man's lifeless body was found on Sunday on Klima Beach on the Greek island of Samos, IOM reported. His identity and nationality are unknown at this time, the IOM said.
--IANS/AKI
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