UN says a record of 218,000 crossed Mediterranean in Oct

More than 218,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in October - a monthly record and nearly the same number as in the whole of 2014, the United Nations said on Monday.

"Last month was a record month for arrivals," UN refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said, pointing out that "arrivals in October paralleled the entire 2014".

In October, 218,394 people made the perilous crossing - all but 8,000 of them landing in Greece - compared with 219,000 arrivals during all of last year, UN figures showed.