ROME -- More than 1000 migrants are presumed dead since January 2024 while crossing the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has confirmed.

 In figures released on Wednesday by the IOM, a UN agency, 421 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean and 603 people are missing and presumed drowned in the period between the start of the year and August 17. Over 13,000 people have been picked up in the waters and taken back to Libya, the data also confirms.

 The figures have been released after 30 people were rescued off the coast of Sardinia on Tuesday. The Algerian oil company Sonatrach published a message on Facebook confirming it had received an urgent call from the Italian coast guard to “carry out a rescue operation for a boat stuck in open water”.

 The non-governmental organisation Alarm Phone, a support hotline aiding refugee rescue operations, has warned that conditions for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean could get worse.

 “Libya is not a safe place and the so-called Libyan coast guard is not reachable.”

 “Don’t let people drown. We need to rescue people now.”

 bq