Over a million refugees arrived in Europe by sea, 3,735 died

More than a million refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe by sea this year, the BBC reported on Wednesday, citing the UNHCR, reports the Patria News Agency.

Of these, more than 80 percent disembarked in Greece, mostly on the island of Lesbos, the BBC says. Around 844,000 traveled to Greece from neighboring Turkey. Most of the others, over 150,000, came from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.

During 2014, just over 216,000 migrants were recorded.

"A large number of refugees and migrants risked their lives in unreliable boats and dinghies in a desperate attempt to reach Europe," reads the UNHCR website.

The vast majority fled war, violence, and persecution and need international protection. In an attempt to cross the Mediterranean this year, 3,735 people died.