Record numbers of migrants die in the Mediterranean: UN

The UN says over 3,400 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year trying to reach Europe, urging governments to do more in order to save lives.

A record 3,419, out of 207,000 people who have made the risky sea crossing since January, died during the trip, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report on Wednesday.

The number of the migrants is nearly three times higher than that of migrants during the Libyan uprising against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the report noted.

The report was released ahead of a two-day meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva on how to protect migrants who take to the sea to escape persecution, war, instability and poverty.

Many countries seem growingly preoccupied with securing their own borders rather than preventing the loss of migrants’ lives, UNHCR Antonio Guterres said ahead of the talks.

“This is a mistake, and precisely the wrong reaction for an era in which record numbers of people are fleeing wars,” Guterres added.

“Security and immigration management are concerns for any country, but policies must be designed in a way that human lives do not end up being collateral damage.”

Most of the migrants set off from the crisis-hit countries such as Syria, Iraq and Libya in an attempt to reach Italy or Malta.

Italy has long faced the challenge of migrants coming from other countries in search of asylum or job opportunities in the European countries.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly conflict since 2011 that has compelled millions of Syrians to flee their homes.

Iraq has also been engaged in a conflict since June when Takfiri ISIL militants overran parts of the country.