Number of migrants decreases, but death toll rises in the Mediterranean Sea

According to the International Organization on Migration, over 290.000 arrivals have been counted in 2016, as opposed to over 350.000 during the same period in 2015. However, despite the declining number of arrivals, deaths on the route to Europe have gone up. 3,168 people are dead or missing as of 31 August 2016, compared to around 2800 that were recorded in 2015 around this time.