Illegal north African immigrants wait to be transfered out of the southernmost Italian island of Lampedusa, March 31, 2011. Tensions between Italyand France were rising over the immigration emergency as more refugees coming from the southern island of Lampedusa tried to escape across the frontier and were pushed back by the French police. (Xinhua/Wang qingqin)

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Migration Agency (IOM) said Friday that 1,530 migrants and refugees died crossing the Mediterranean in 2017.

The IOM reports that 60,521 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea this year, with over 80 percent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the daily news briefing.

"This number does not include some 6,000 people who have been rescued over the past 72 hours," said Dujarric.

In terms of fatalities, there have been 1,530 migrants and refugees who have died this year on this route, a figure that roughly matches those for 2016 for the same period, he said.

However, the IOM warned that the deadliest season is starting right now, said the spokesman.