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The Mediterranean's deadliest migrant disasters

Rescued people find shelter at a depot, following the shipwreck off Greece
Rescued people find shelter at a depot, following the shipwreck off Greece

The sinking of an overloaded migrant boat off Greece has added to the grim number of people killed in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe.

Greek authorities said at least 78 bodies have been recovered, with fears that the toll could eventually reach into the hundreds, after a fishing boat, travelling from Libya to Italy, capsized and sank.

The 104 survivors are mainly from Syria, Egypt and Pakistan and have been temporarily housed in a port warehouse to be interviewed by Greek authorities, who are looking for possible smugglers among them.

A view of the depot where rescued migrants are taken following the shipwreck off shore in Kalamata

Since 2014, 26,924 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.

These are some of the deadliest incidents involving migrant crossings since 2010:

April 2015: Up to 900 dead off Libya

A body is brought ashore in Malta after a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized off the Libyan coast in April 2015

On 19 April 2015, up to 900 migrants died when a fishing trawler taking them to Europe rolled over off the coast of Libya after colliding with the cargo ship sent to its rescue.

Just 28 people were rescued.

Most of the victims of the worst disaster in the Mediterranean since World War Two were from West African countries of Gambia, Mali and Senegal.

The Tunisian captain of the boat was convicted of manslaughter and human trafficking and sentenced to 18 years in jail by an Italian court.

May 2011: 600 dead off Libya

In May 2011, refugees arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa said they had witnessed the sinking of another migrant ship in Libyan waters. The ship, which was transporting 600 people, was listed as missing.

April 2016: 500 dead off Italy

Survivors said that there were around 500 people on board an overcrowded boat that sank off Italy. Forty-one people were rescued after drifting for three days in another boat.

September 2014: 500 dead off Malta

A boat travelling from Egypt with 500 people on board sank off southeastern Malta, after having been rammed by traffickers travelling on another ship.

The tragedy came after the passengers, who were bound for Italy, had refused to transfer into a smaller boat.

Only 10 people survived.

April 2015: 400 dead off Libya

Nearly 400 migrants died when their rickety boat sank some 150km off the Libyan coast. A total of 144 people survived.

October 2013: Over 360 dead off Lampedusa

Italian military personnel remove bodies from a shipwreck off the Italian coast in the harbour of Lampedusa on 6 October 2013

A fishing boat travelling from Libya with over 500 migrants caught fire and sank in the middle of the night, 550m from the coast of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.

Only 155 people survived, while 366 people, including children, were trapped in the hold and drowned.