Migrants: 850 dead in Mediterranean Sea in last two months - UNHCR

ROME, AUGUST 6 - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that 850 people died in June and July as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. The Mediterranean is becoming ''the most lethal'' sea worldwide, it denounced.

The organization also reported that the number of deaths has increased at an ''alarming'' rate despite a decrease in the total



number of arrivals on Europe's coasts compared to the previous years.

According to data published by UNHCR, in the first seven months of the year, 60,000 migrants attempted the crossing (half of the number reported last year), including 1,500 who lost their lives. In particular, one in 31 of those who attempted the crossing died in June and June, against one in 49 in 2017.