Mediterranean migrant deaths in 2016 pass 5,000: UN

Migrants wait to be rescued off the coast of Libya on November 5, 2016. By ANDREAS SOLARO (AFP/File)

Geneva (AFP) - The number of migrants and refugees who have perished while trying to cross the Mediterranean this year has passed 5,000, the UN said Friday after two more deadly shipwrecks.

The latest incidents happened Thursday when an estimated 100 people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after two rubber dinghies collapsed, the UN refugee agency said, citing reports from the Italian coastguard.

In October, UNHCR declared 2016 the deadliest year ever for migrants trying to reach Europe on the Mediterranean route, when the fatality mark hit 3,800.

Deaths have surged this year because migrant smugglers are increasingly using poor quality vessels while also trying to pack more people on boats, possibly to raise profits, UNHCR has said.

"An average of 14 people have died every day in the Mediterranean Sea during 2016," UNHCR said in a statement.

The higher death rate has come despite a drop in the number of migrants crossing the sea this year compared to 2015.

Last year, more than a million people reached Europe via the Mediterranean, but crossings this year were below 360,000, the International Organisation for Migration said Friday.

Numbers began dropping dramatically following a March deal between Turkey and the European Union to stem the migrant tide towards the Greek islands.