UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie have called for increased efforts by European nations to contribute to the rescue of irregular migrants in peril on the high seas and warned about the scale of the crisis in the Mediterranean. Their call came during a visit on Sunday to the naval rescue headquarters in Malta, on a weekend in which new boat sinkings were being reported off Egypt and Libya claiming more innocent lives. A UNHCR press release said Jolie and Guterres met three survivors of one of the tragedies, who had been rescued by a commercial vessel and brought to Malta by the Maltese authorities. In the Maltese capital of Valletta, Jolie also visited Syrian refugee families who survived a similar devastating boat tragedy last October. They included a couple from Damascus whose three small children perished during the crossing, and a doctor from Aleppo whose wife and three-year-old daughter drowned. Half of those arriving in Europe by boat are refugees from Syria and Eritrea. Guterres and Jolie thanked the naval authorities for their part in successful rescue operations that have saved many lives. More than 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing attempting the Mediterranean crossing this year alone, including over 2,200 since the start of June.

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