Greece received the biggest number of migrants from January 1 to May 8, the United Nations (UN) confirmed on Friday.
According to the UN Migration agency, a total of more than 17,000 irregular migrants reached the European shores during the first months of 2019, 7,800 of which entered the EU through Greece.
Spain came second in the number of new arrivals with 7,202 people entering the country.
According to a report published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently, 493 out of the 17,000 people who entered Europe in 2019, perished in a series of tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea.
The most recent fatal accident involved 70 migrants who drowned after their boat sank off the coast of Tunisia on Friday.
A total of more than 30,000 refugees and migrants have died between 2014 and 2018 trying to reach Europe, the UN Migration agency reported earlier this year.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
