Europe Sea Arrivals Fall 39%, Deaths Rise: IOM

"Nearly every death and disappearance at sea is preventable," IOM Director General Amy Pope said after the agency released its data report on Thursday, 17 September 2026. About 60,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea through mid-September 2026, a 39 percent decline from 98,000 in the same period last year. At least 2,292 people died or went missing, up from 1,999 last year. IOM said the true toll is likely higher as many shipwrecks and disappearances go unrecorded. The central Mediterranean route to Italy recorded 21,393 arrivals, less than half last year's number, while deaths on the route rose from 844 to 996. The route to Spain via the Atlantic and western Mediterranean killed 879 people. Pope said, "The consequences continue long after. Human remains go unidentified, leaving families searching across borders for answers, often for years." She called for international cooperation, anti-trafficking action, and expanded legal pathways. The European Union agreed in June new rules to allow migrant deportations outside the bloc.