Mediterranean death toll tops record 5000

The UN says the estimated death toll among migrants on the Mediterranean this year is at least 5000 - a new record.

An undated handout image made available on 13 September 2016 by the Italian Coast Guard shows a video grab of migrants on rubber boats

An undated handout image made available on 13 September 2016 by the Italian Coast Guard shows a video grab of migrants on rubber boats Source: AAP

UN agencies says at least 90 people are missing and feared dead after two shipwrecks off Italy, raising the estimated death toll among migrants on the Mediterranean this year to at least 5000 - a new record.

Spokesman Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration said Friday that 63 survivors from the capsizing of a rubber dinghy said there were originally between 120 and 140 people on board.

An estimated 80 people survived another sinking of a rubber dinghy that came to light Thursday, and another 40 people were feared dead. He did not immediately have further details.

Also at the UN news briefing in Geneva, spokesman William Spindler of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' office reported that about 100 people were believed to have died in the recent Mediterranean incidents.


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Source: AAP


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Mediterranean death toll tops record 5000 | SBS News