7. A series of migrant ships, the Mediterranean Sea in April 2015, at least five boats carrying approximately 2,000 migrants to Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea. The combined death toll of the incidents stands at more than 1,200 people.

Rescue operations are carried out on Rhodes island, Greece, April 20, 2015. A vessel carrying approximately 200 irregular migrants sank off the coasts of Rhodes island in southeastern Aegean Sea on April 20, 2015, local authorities said. At least three people died in the accident. [Photo/Xinhua]

The catastrophes took place against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in several North African and Middle Eastern countries. Several European Union governments refused to help fund the Italian rescue service – Operation Mare Nostrum – that responded to many such shipwrecks.