The (IOM) said on Monday about 500 migrants may have been killed in a deliberate sinking in the  last week. The unverified claim comes after IOM debriefed two  survivors. IOM Spokesperson in Flavio Di Giacomo told , "Two survivors brought to  told us that there had been at least 500 people on board. Nine other survivors were rescued by and ships, but all the rest appear to have perished". According to the two survivors, the boat, which departed on September 6 from ,  bound for Malta, sank in the Mediterranean Sea last Wednesday when rammed it; drowning the vast majority of its 500 plus passengers, including refugees from Egypt, , and Palestine. They said the smugglers had become angry when the passengers refused transfer to a smaller vessel that they doubted could carry them. According to  data, this year the number of migrants by sea to Europe exceeds 130,000, up by 50,000 from last year. Many people from North Africa and the Middle East attempt to reach Europe on overcrowded, unsafe boats. Over 2,500 people on this journey have drowned or disappeared this year, 2,200 of them since June.
The (IOM) said on Monday about 500 migrants may have been killed in a deliberate sinking in the Mediterranean Sea last week. The unverified claim comes after IOM debriefed two Palestinian survivors. IOM Spokesperson in Flavio Di Giacomo told , "Two survivors brought to Sicily told us that there had been at least 500 people on board. Nine other survivors were rescued by and ships, but all the rest appear to have perished". According to the two survivors, the boat, which departed on September 6 from , Egypt bound for Malta, sank in the Mediterranean Sea last Wednesday when rammed it; drowning the vast majority of its 500 plus passengers, including refugees from Egypt, Sudan, Syria and Palestine. They said the smugglers had become angry when the passengers refused transfer to a smaller vessel that they doubted could carry them. According to UN data, this year the number of migrants by sea to Europe exceeds 130,000, up by 50,000 from last year. Many people from North Africa and the Middle East attempt to reach Europe on overcrowded, unsafe boats. Over 2,500 people on this journey have drowned or disappeared this year, 2,200 of them since June.
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Mediterranean Sea
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Palestinian
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Sicily
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Egypt
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Sudan, Syria
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UN