A new UN report estimates that an average of six migrants per day die attempting the Mediterranean crossing to Europe. While the overall number of deaths has declined along with the number of people making crossing attempts, the death rate has spiked dramatically from 1 death out of every 38 arrivals in 2017 to 1 death out of every 14 arrivals in 2018. The total number of arrivals declined from 119,369 in 2017 to 23,370 in 2018, a trend that has continued into 2019. The UN report suggests that “reductions in search and rescue capacity coupled with an uncoordinated and unpredictable response to disembarkation led to an increased death rate.”
Source: Migrant crisis: UN says six die every day in Mediterranean crossings – BBC News