Some 224,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, the United Nations said Thursday, a day after more than 200 people were feared drowned trying to make the perilous journey.

"By the end of July, some 224,000 refugees and migrants had arrived by sea in Europe, including 98,000 in Italy and 124,000 in Greece," UN refugee agency spokesman William Spindler told AFP in an email.