UN agency reports over 8,500 migrants died worldwide last year, a record since tallies began in 2014

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. migration agency says more than 8,500 migrants died on land and sea routes worldwide last year, a record high since it began tallying deaths a decade ago. The International Organization for Migration says the biggest increase in deaths last year was on the treacherous Mediterranean Sea crossing, to more than 3,000 from about 2,400 in 2022. But that was well below the more than 5,000 deaths recorded on the Mediterranean in 2016 as huge numbers of Syrians, Afghans and others fled conflicts toward Europe. IOM says the total number of deaths among migrants in 2023 was nearly 20% more than the previous year.