VIDEO: Migrants tragedy overwhelms Greek island of Lesvos
More than 100,000 migrants have already made the perilous crossing over the Mediterranean to Europe this year, the UN said Tuesday, as the migration crisis continued to unfurl.
Tens of thousands of people have landed on Greek shores with the country struggling to cope with the influx coming mainly from places like Syria, Afghanistan and sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) more than 48,000 migrants and refugees have landed on Greek shores already this year, which compares to 34,000 arrivals during all of 2014.
Adrian Edwards, a UNHCR spokesperson, said that the Greek islands have recently been getting an average of 600 new arrivals a day, with around 50 percent of them landing on the island of Lesvos.
"Record numbers of refugees are continuing to arrive in rubber dinghies and wooden boats on Lesvos, putting huge strain on the island's capacity and resources," Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
There are currently as many as 2,500 on the island waiting for registration by the authorities, he pointed out. MEE visited the island and spoke to refugees and aid workers about the growing crisis.
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