Some 289 children are known to have died in the first half of 2023 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, UNICEF's global lead on migration and displacement, Verena Knaus says. "The number of children who have lost their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe has doubled in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year," she tells a press conference in Geneva. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES