The number of migrants who have died or gone missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea this summer has tripled compared to the same period last year, the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday, as quoted by AFP and Agerpres.

At least 990 people died in the central Mediterranean, which connects North Africa to Europe, between June and August, compared with 334 migrants who lost their lives in the same period in 2022, UNICEF said in a statement.

More than 300 migrants died in a single disaster this summer after a fishing boat with hundreds of people on board sank off the southern coast of Greece in June.

While the overall proportion of children is not quantified (UNICEF checked about ten children per week in July), 11,600 “unaccompanied minors” attempted to reach Italy between January and mid-September aboard rickety boats, a 60% increase over the same period in 2022 (7,200), UNICEF highlighted for AFP.

“The Mediterranean Sea has become a cemetery for children and their future. The tragic balance of lost children seeking asylum and safety in Europe is the result of political choices and an ineffective migration system,” emphasized Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF coordinator on this issue.

The total number of dead or missing migrants rose to more than 2,500 between January and September 24, an increase of 50% over the year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees summarized Thursday during a Security Council meeting on the crisis in the Mediterranean. year.

UNICEF’s warning comes as the European Union struggles to find a consensus on how to deal with migration, which has reached unprecedented levels since the 2015-2016 refugee crisis.