More than 3,400 people have died in the Mediterranean waters this year trying to reach Europe, revealed the UN refugee agency on Wednesday, urging governments to take more action to save lives. More than 207,000 people have made the dangerous sea crossing since January, a number almost three times higher to the previous 70,000 reported during the Libyan civil war in 2011, the UNHCR said. Of these, a record 3,419 died, out of a total of 4,272 reported deaths worldwide on migrant vessels in 2014.
The figures were released at the start of a two-day meeting in Geneva hosted by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on how to protect people who take to the sea to escape war, instability and poverty.