The deadliest shipwreck so far this year took place April 22 off Libya, when 130 people drowned despite sending multiple distress calls.
At least 1,146 people died while attempting to reach Europe by sea during the first six months of 2021, the U.N. migration agency said in a report on Wednesday. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of migrants and refugees who died between January and June of this year more than doubled compared to the first six months of 2020. It also reported the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Europe had increased by 58 percent. As many shipwrecks are not reported and accidents at sea can be difficult to verify, the agency said the actual number of deaths may be far higher than stated in the report, the Associated Press reported. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. The Central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy was the deadliest, claiming 741 lives. Next was the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and Spain’s Canary Islands, where at least 250 people died, the agency said. At least 149 people also died on the Western Mediterranean route to Spain, as well as at least six on the Eastern Mediterranean route to Greece. The IOM says the actual number of deaths on sea routes to Europe may be far higher as many shipwrecks go unreported and others are hard to verify.
