France, April 8 -- At least 990 deaths have been recorded in the Mediterranean since the start of the year, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

It said this represents one of the deadliest starts to a year since its records began in 2014.

In the past two weeks alone, at least 180 people have died or gone missing in five separate shipwrecks.

The latest incident on Sunday left more than 80 people missing when a boat capsized in the Central Mediterranean after departing from Tajoura in Libya with around 120 people on board. 

Only 32 survivors have been found so far, while two bodies have been recovered.

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