Almost 220,000 migrants, a record, reached Europe by sea in October: UN

“That makes it the highest total for any month to date and roughly the same as the entire total for 2014,” he said. The UNHCR puts 2014 arrivals by sea at about 219,000.

Four refugees drown off Greek Island, six missing after boat sank

Four refugees drowned and another six were missing off the Greek island of Farmakonisi after their boat sank, the Greek coastguard said on Monday.

Four people were rescued, the coastguard said in a statement. The vessel the migrants were travelling on sank in an unknown location north of the island, it said.

Eleven people, including six infants, drowned on Sunday when their boat capsized off the island of Samos, trapping them in the cabin.

The toll from drowning among thousands of refugees making the short but dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece’s outlying eastern islands has risen in recent weeks from the onset of colder weather. There were near-gale force winds blowing in the Aegean at the weekend.