Migrant Deaths Rise on Dangerous European Sea Routes Despite Fewer Arrivals

Fewer migrants and refugees are reaching European shores by sea this year, but the journeys they undertake are becoming increasingly dangerous, leading to a rise in deaths and disappearances, according to a warning from the U.N. migration agency.

Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15 of this year, nearly 60,000 people arrived on European coasts, a decrease of almost 40% compared to the same period last year. However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 2,300 individuals died or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean in the same timeframe. This figure is up from approximately 2,000 during the corresponding period last year.

"Nearly every death and disappearance at sea is preventable," stated IOM Director General Amy Pope. She urged authorities to enhance international cooperation to save lives, combat human trafficking, and establish alternative legal pathways for migration, emphasizing that "Behind every number is a human being, a family, a community."

The Central Mediterranean route, a primary path to Italy, experienced the most significant drop in arrivals, falling from over 48,000 last year to more than 21,000 this year. Despite this reduction, 996 people have died on this route so far this year, an increase from 844 in the same period of 2025.

Arrivals to Greece also saw a decline of roughly 5,000, accompanied by a 47% rise in deaths. Similarly, fatalities on migration routes to Spain remained high, even as overall arrivals decreased. The IOM noted that at least 97 people died on the Spanish side of the border with Morocco during the two-day Ceuta border crisis on July 30 and 31 alone.

The IOM cautioned that the actual death toll is likely higher, as many shipwrecks and disappearances go unrecorded due to a lack of transparency from authorities regarding events at sea, an issue previously highlighted by The Associated Press.