The first quarter of 2023, between January and March, was the deadliest for migrants crossing the Mediterranean since 2017, with 441 lives lost trying to reach Europe, the UN said on Wednesday.
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that this figure of 441 deaths between January and March 2023 is below reality. “With over 20,000 deaths recorded on this road since 2014, I fear these deaths have been normalized,” he warned, adding that “delays and gaps in search and rescue operations by the States cost human lives”. “Over the Easter weekend, 3,000 migrants reached Italy, bringing the total number of arrivals since the start of the year to 31,192,” IOM said.
Delays in search and rescue (SAR) operations have been a driving factor in at least six incidents so far this year, killing at least 127 of the remaining 441 people, the IOM said. . “The complete lack of response during a seventh rescue operation claimed the lives of at least 73 migrants” still included in this same tally, IOM said in a statement, adding that search and rescue efforts rescues from non-governmental organizations have declined markedly in recent months.
Entire boats missing
“The continuing humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” said IOM Chief Antonio Vitorino. The UN agency’s “Missing Migrants” project is also investigating several cases of missing boats, where there are no traces of survivors, debris and where no search and rescue operations have been carried out. . Some 300 people on board these boats are still missing, the organization said.
