Nearly 100 dead or missing migrants in Mediterranean so far in 2024, says IOM chief

Almost 100 migrants have died or disappeared in the central and eastern Mediterranean since the beginning of 2024, more than double the toll recorded last year during the same period, the U.N. migration agency said on Monday.

Reflecting on the saddening figures, Amy Pope, the director general of IOM, stressed a comprehensive approach that includes safe and regular pathways as the only solution that will benefit migrants and states alike.

According to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, the annual number of migrant deaths and disappearances in all the Mediterranean jumped from 2,048 in 2021, to 2,411 in 2022, and to 3,041 by the end of 2023.