As a major migrant crisis grips southern Europe, more than 1,700 people have died crossing the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2015. Packed like sardines onto old fishing boats and overcrowded ships, thousands of migrants have made the risky crossing in the recent months.
Migrants have been crossing the Mediterranean every day in hopes of reaching Europe for years, but the numbers of deadly accidents are on the rise. In 2014, approximately 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean and 3,500 lives were lost according to UNHCR.
Many are fleeing violence in their home countries in hopes of a better life in Europe. But the central Mediterranean crossing from the northern coast of Libya to southern Italy is dangerous — and made even worse by lack of proper search and rescue operations in the area.
All too often, that journey ends in capsized vessels and shipwrecks that plunge the migrants into the open sea, where they are left to drown, or wait for help that rarely comes in time.
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