{Most travelled on rubber dinghies, with roughly 130 people packed on each.
}
Nearly 6,000 migrants who crossed the Mediterranean have reached Italy since Tuesday, the International Organisation for Migration said, warning that the surge in arrivals would continue.
“A total of 6,021 migrants and refugees have made the dangerous sea crossing since Tuesday,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman said, adding that all landed in Italy, excluding 174 people who reached Greece.
Millman said there was no evidence to suggest the rise in Italy arrivals was linked to an EU-Turkey deal aimed at stemming the influx of people to Europe via the Greek islands, or the closure of the Balkans migrant route.
Migrants who spoke to IOM staff in Italy said they had crossed from Libya.
{{RUBBER DINGHIES}}
Most travelled on rubber dinghies, with roughly 130 people packed on each.
“Many were from sub-Saharan Africa, and we have noticed an increase in numbers from the Horn of Africa, particularly Eritreans,” Federico Soda, head of the IOM’s Rome office, said.
“There have been very few Syrians arriving from Libya in recent months.”
Millman said with weather warming at the start of the main crossing season, Italy would likely see persistently high arrivals in the weeks ahead.
So far this year, more than 23,000 migrants have landed in Italy, compared to nearly 153,500 who have ended up in Greece, the organisation said.
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