Deadliest quarter in the central Med since 2017 - IOM

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 12 - The first quarter of 2023 has been the most lethal since 2017 for migrants and refugees trying to cross the central Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
    441 migrants and refugees died in the period January-March in the attempt to reach safety and a better life in Europe, IOM said in a statement quoting figures from its Missing Migrants Project.
    "The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable," said IOM Director General, António Vitorino.
    "With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized. States must respond. Delays and gaps in State-led SAR are costing human lives," he added. (ANSA).