The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says about 56 people died in a series of shipwrecks off Senegal and Greece last week.

IOM, in a statement on Monday called the incidents a stark reminder of the deadly risks migrants face on the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

“These were mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, people who left home hoping for a better life. Smugglers and traffickers charged them for a dangerous journey on boats unfit for the sea. These networks profit from desperation, and every day they operate, more lives are put at risk.

“Countries must go after them together and give people safe, legal ways to move. Our hearts are with every family waiting for news,” IOM Director General, Army Pope, said.

According to Senegalese authorities and public reports off the coast of northwestern Senegal, at least 34 people died on Friday when a boat carrying migrants capsized near Loumpoul, between Dakar and Saint-Louis.

They noted, ”One survivor was rescued and an unknown number of people remain missing, Search operations are continuing, and the death toll remains provisional.”

South of Crete, at least 22 people died in two separate incidents after boats that had departed from eastern Libya got into distress at sea.

In one incident, Greek authorities rescued 28 Sudanese migrants and recovered eight bodies, with several people reported missing. In the other, 18 survivors were rescued and 14 bodies recovered after a cargo ship spotted the vessel in distress.

The IOM said rising arrivals on the eastern Libya–Crete route to mainland Europe this year, combined with gaps in search and rescue capacity, are heightening concerns over the risks people face on the journey.

It said the organisation had recorded at least 454 deaths and disappearances so far as of October 26, on the Western African Atlantic Route alone.

”These are minimum estimates, as many boats disappear without survivors or trace. Departures on the route have increasingly shifted south towards The Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, lengthening journeys and exposing migrants to greater risks at sea,” the IOM said.

The organisation therefore called for sustained cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination, including coordinated search and rescue, support for survivors and the families of the missing.

It also called for stronger action against smuggling networks, and expanded safe and regular migration pathways.

(NAN)