Number of Migrant Arrivals to Italy Surged to Almost 27,500 in October

Nearly 27 500 migrants reached the Italian shores in October, the highest monthly number ever recorded in the Central Mediterranean and more than twice as many as in the previous month, according to the statement of the Frontex border and coast guard agency.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More than 27,000 migrants have reached Italy in October, which is the record number of people arriving to the Central Mediterranean this year, the Frontex border and coast guard agency said Wednesday.

"Nearly 27 500 migrants reached the Italian shores in October, the highest monthly number ever recorded in the Central Mediterranean and more than twice as many as in the previous month," Frontex said in a statement.

The main reason for this extraordinary number was improved weather, which encouraged smugglers to cram people on boats before the winter season, according to the statement.

So far this year, about 159,500 migrants have arrived in Italy, which is by 13 percent more than in 2015, the statement continued.

Europe has been struggling with a massive influx of refugees amid a volatile situation in the Middle East and North Africa. The majority of asylum seekers cross the Mediterranean Sea and arrive in the European Union using southern EU nations as transit points.

Frontex detected over 1.83 million illegal border crossings in 2015, in contrast to some 283,000 in 2014.