A total of 169,846 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea in the first three months of 2016 - more than eight times the number recorded in the same period of 2015, according to calculations of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A record one million migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean, mostly to Greece and Italy, last year. Out of February 2016 total, 151,104 migrants and refugees have arrived via the Eastern Mediterranean route (Turkey to Greece) and 18,742 via the Central Mediterranean route (North Africa to Italy), according to a statement posted on the IOM website. IOM also reported 620 registered deaths on Mediterranean migrant routes in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 23% compared with 505 fatalities in January-March 2015.
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