6 people die every day trying to cross Med in 2018 - UN

In the latest report titled “Desperate Journeys,” UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said: “An estimated 2,275 people died or went missing crossing the Mediterranean in 2018, despite a major drop in the number of arrivals reaching European shores.

“In total, 139,300 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe, the lowest number in five years,” it said.

The report also pointed out significant changes in the routes being used by refugees and migrants.

“For the first time in recent years, Spain became the primary entry point to Europe as around 8,000 arrived by land (through the enclaves in Ceuta and Melilla) and a further 54,800 people successfully crossed over the perilous western Mediterranean.

“As a result, the death toll for the western Mediterranean nearly quadrupled from 202 in 2017 to 777. Some 23,400 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy in 2018, a fivefold decrease compared to the previous year,” it said.

Greece saw around threefold increase in the number of people arriving via its land border with Turkey, the report added.