At least 13 migrants dead as boat sinks off Greek island

With just days left in 2015, the Geneva-based intergovernmental organisation said the million mark was crossed on Monday– marking more than a four-fold increase from previous year and a symbolic milestone amid the fallout of war, poverty and persecution in Africa and the Middle East.

More than 200 have drowned in the Aegean and over 90,000 have been rescued.

The route from Turkey to Greece across the Mediterranean Sea has become “the deadliest route for migrants on our planet”, according to the UN.

Divers from the nearby Turkish port of Izmir were rushed to the scene after a tip-off that more refugees could be trapped in the hold, Dogan said.

The small boat went down off the Greek island of Farmakonisi overnight, sending 29 people into the water, according to an official with the Greek port police.

The refugee agency yesterday criticized the “initial chaotic reaction” in parts of Europe to the migrant flood, but applauded signs that a more coordinated response is now emerging. A total of 3,692 migrants died or disappeared crossing the sea, IOM said.

According to the organizations’ figures, half a million people who ventured across the Mediterranean this year were Syrians, Afghans accounted for 20 per cent and Iraqis for seven per cent.

About 816,000 people arrived in Greece by sea and 4,000 people arrived in Greece by land.

By contrast, there have been 6,029 deaths between 1998 and 2013 along the second-deadliest border: the one between the United States and Mexico, the International Organization for Migration said.

Natalia Alonso, Head of Oxfam’s European Union office, said: “The real issue here is a global migration crisis that is not being adequately addressed”.

UNHCR said much more needed to be done to reinforce required reception capacity at points of entry and allow for the humane and effective accommodation, aid, registration and screening to identify those in need of protection.

The EU is grappling for solutions to mass migrant arrival in Europe, a lot of them Syrian refugees from Turkey.

Abdullah Kurdi had been trying to escape along with his family and up to three other Syrians from the flashpoint town, which was previous year the site of a months-long battle between Kurdish militias and jihadists. This means that the number of people displaced worldwide could hit over 70 million in 2015 once the figures are updated. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.