article_snippet.sent: (CNN)After a weekend shipwreck off the coast of Italy that may have killed hundreds of migrants, the International Organization for Migrants said Monday that there may be three more migrant boats in distress in international waters.
article_snippet.sent: That sinking may be the worst in a series of disasters in which migrants have lost migrants lives on vessels that are too rickety to survive long voyages.
article_snippet.sent: Migrants have been attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to southern Europe for years, but authorities have reported a sudden surge in the past 10 days, along with a grim spike in the number of those who are killed en route.
article_snippet.sent: Already this year, more than 900 migrants are believed to have died while crossing the Mediterranean, far more than during the same period in 2014, the International Organization for Migration said last week.
article_snippet.sent: Since the beginning of 2015, more than 35,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea -- 23,500 have landed in Italy and more than 12,000 in Greece, according to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights.
article_snippet.sent: In 2014, approximately 219,000 refugees and migrants sailed across the Mediterranean, with most having to be rescued by the Italian Navy, Coast Guard or merchant ships, the UNCHR said.
article_snippet.sent: As rescuers approached another boat in response to a distress call Saturday night, authorities say, migrants moved to one side, hoping to be saved.