Migrants arrive the Italian island of Lampedusa

The number of migrants reaching Italy fell dramatically in August, while arrivals through alternative routes to Europe stayed at a high level, EU’s border control agency Frontex said on Monday.

The number reaching Italy fell by 60 per cent in August compared to the previous month, while crossings into Spain remained relatively high, with an estimated 2,400 arrivals and crossings into Greece rose.

With a total of 12,200 migrants reaching the EU in August, the total number of people arriving in the bloc stood at 142,700 for the first eight months of 2017.

This had shown a decrease of two-thirds compared to the same period in 2016.

An estimated 2,400 people arrived in Spain in August, which is more than twice the number of arrivals compared to the same month in 2016.

In total, 13,600 people have reached Spain between January and August this year, which is a three-fold increase compared to the same eight months in 2016.

The number of migrants arriving in Greece increased by 25 per cent compared to July and stood at 4,200 in August.

However, with 21,100 arrivals in the first eight months of 2017, the figure was one-tenth of the arrivals recorded in the same period in 2016.

Italy saw a sharp decline in migrant numbers in August with 4,500 arrivals.

In total, 99,800 people have reached Italy between January and the end of August this year, which is a 13-per-cent drop compared to the same months of 2016.

Meanwhile, the Italian interior ministry said on Monday that it saw an uptick in arrivals at the end of last week, with 121 people arriving on Friday, 384 on Saturday and 1,355 on Sunday. (Reuters/NAN)