Thousands of child migrants dead in decade of Med crossings: Unicef

ROME: Some 3,500 migrant children have died or gone missing in the past decade trying to cross the Mediterranean for Italy, Unicef estimated on Tuesday, comparable to one child per day.

In its estimate, the United Nations agency for children cautioned that the true number of dead or disappeared children was “likely much higher”. The central Mediterranean migration route, from North Africa to Italy, is the world´s most dangerous, with nearly 22,000 dead or missing migrants recorded since 2014, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

About one in every six migrants on that route is a child, with the majority travelling alone, Unicef said. “Past data has shown that eight in 10 children and young people travelling along the Central Mediterranean Route experience exploitation, including violence, abuse, sexual exploitation, forced labour, child marriage and captivity,” the agency said in its report. Unicef recalled a shipwreck on April 18.