‘Over 2,000 migrants die’ trying to cross Mediterranean

More than 2,000 migrants have died so far in 2015 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to reach Europe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
“Over 2,000 migrants have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, confirming this as the deadliest route for migrants in search of a better life. In the same period last year, 1,607 migrants perished. A total of 3,279 [people] lost their lives in 2014,” an IOM spokesman Itayi Viriri said at a press conference in UN’s Geneva headquarters.
Approximately, 188,000 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean so far this year, the spokesman added.
“The organization believes that more migrants will attempt to reach European shores as the summer progresses,” he added.