2016 deadliest year for refugees in the Mediterranean

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - At least 3,800 refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, making 2016 the deadliest year on record, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday.

"We are receiving more reports of deaths in the Med. We can now confirm that at least 3,800 people have died, making 2016 the deadliest [year] ever," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler wrote on Twitter.

According to the UNHCR, some 3,771 Mediterranean refugee deaths were reported for the whole of 2015.

Over one million refugees crossed the Mediterranean to Europe last year. This year so far, crossings stand at 327,800.