Three times more migrants dead or missing in the Mediterranean this summer

The number of migrants who died or went missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 2023 was more than three times higher compared to the same period in 2022, as reported by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Friday.

UNICEF stated, "The Mediterranean Sea has become a graveyard for children," and it recorded the drowning of "at least 990 people, including children," in the central Mediterranean region between June and August 2023, "which is more than three times" the number during the same period in 2022 when "at least 334 people" perished.