Report: Almost 50,000 Refugees Land in Greece in 5 Days

A record number of 48,000 refugees landed on Greece’s coasts between Oct. 17-21, the International Organization for Migration said Friday.

"Despite deteriorating weather conditions, approximately 48,000 refugees and migrants crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands, or about 9,600 migrants and refugees in each of the past five days," the organization said in a statement.

On Tuesday, their number reached a peak, with 11,000 people descending on the Greek islands, leaving “many local authorities unprepared," it added.

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Tthe island of Chios, which received some 300 people a week over the summer, saw an increase to almost 10,000 this week, while Lesbos took in over 27,000 people within five days. 

Lesbos has been one of the main gateways for thousands of migrants, due to its short distance from Turkey. It is set to host the first EU control posts – together with the Greek North Aegean islands – as agreed by EU member countries. The post will work as a filter to decide which migrants qualify as refugees and to register them before they enter the Schengen area, under the control of the EU security agency Frontex.

This recent pattern is even more exceptional that the coming winter usually dampens refugees' incentives to cross the sea in previous years. Tragically, this growing number of refugees also resulted in a growing number of deaths at sea, highlighted the organization.

At least 18 perished since Monday in the trip from Turkey to Greece – compared to the 335 people who died since January 2015, the International Organization for Migration said. However, on the journey from Libya to Italy, at least 2,800 deaths have been recorded.