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January 30, 2019The refugees and migrants who tried to reach Europe through the Mediterranean Sea in 2018 lost their lives at an alarming rate, while cuts in search and rescue operations consolidated the position of this sea route as the most lethal in the world. According to the latest 'Desperate Travels' report, published by the UNHCR, on average six people lost their lives in the Mediterranean every day.

It is estimated that 2,275 people died or were missing during the Mediterranean crossing in 2018, despite a considerable drop in the number of those who reached the European coasts. In total, 139,300 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe, the lowest number in the last five years. The report describes how a change in the policies adopted by some European states has led to the occurrence of numerous incidents in which a large number of people remained adrift at sea for days, awaiting authorization to land. NGO ships and crew members have been subjected to abrupt restrictions on the possibility of carrying out search and rescue operations.

Along the routes from Libya to Europe, one person every 14 arrived in Europe lost his life at sea, a dizzying surge compared to the levels of 2017. Thousands of people were brought back to Libya, where they faced terrible conditions in detention centers.

Significant changes in routes: Spain's main entry point into Europe
The report also reveals significant changes in the routes followed by refugees and migrants. For the first time in recent years, Spain has become the main point of entry into Europe with about 8,000 people arriving by land (through the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla) and another 54,800 arriving following the dangerous crossing of the western Mediterranean. As a result, the death toll in the western Mediterranean has almost quadrupled, from 202 deaths in 2017 to 777 last year.

2018: 23 thousand arrived in Italy, 32 thousand in Greece
About 23,400 refugees and migrants arrived in Italy in 2018, a number five times lower than the previous year. Greece, on the other hand, received a similar number of arrivals by sea, around 32,500 people compared to 30,000 in 2017, but recorded almost three times more people than across the land border with Turkey. Elsewhere in Europe, some 24,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in transit through the Western Balkans. In Cyprus, several boats of Syrians arrived from Lebanon, while a limited number of people attempted to reach the United Kingdom by sea from France towards the end of the year.