Migrant shipwrecks on the central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Italy have claimed at least 700 lives over the past seven days, the UN refugee agency told dpa on Sunday.
The death toll refers to the three accidents that took place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and is based on survivors' accounts, agency spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said in Rome.
She said there were 550 people missing from a boat that overturned on Thursday; about 100 may be inside the hold of another vessel that sank on Wednesday; and an unspecified number of people were unaccounted for from a third shipwreck on Friday.
Migrants who survived other recent sea crossing attempts also reported missing persons, Sami said. For example, the mother of the 9-month girl who arrived on the island of Lampedusa on Wednesday and whose plight triggered a nationwide outpouring of compassion.
"Totting up these grim numbers, we estimate that there are at least 700 victims, with no certainty on the figures and on their identities," the spokeswoman said.
Italy has faced a surge of migrant arrivals since Monday.
Its coastguard coordinated the sea rescue of about 13,000 people, plus the recovery of 50 bodies. In the previous seven days, some 1,700 migrants arrived on the shores of Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In its most recent report, the coastguard said in an overnight Twitter message that 40 people were saved from a dinghy off the island of Lampedusa "after a difficult search."
Following the closure of the Balkan route, passing through Greece and Turkey, Italy has become the main entry point for Europe-bound migrants. IOM data shows that Greece had only 272 arrivals in the May 19-26 period, compared to 5,674 for Italy.
Italy-bound flows are expected to further increase as warmer weather encourages more departures from Libya.
Sami said most of those who arrived in Italy came from the Horn of Africa or sub-Saharan Africa, but there were also arrivals from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and 26 Syrians who had been living in Libya for some time.
Quoting interior ministry sources, the ANSA news agency said more than 70 migrant smuggling boats had set off from Libyan ports this week, most of which were barely seaworthy, but departures from Egypt were also detected.
By Alvise Armellini
