Over 8,500 migrants died worldwide last year, a record since the UN started counting 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 counting deaths a decade ago. The International Organization for Migration says the biggest increase in deaths last year was on the treacherous Mediterranean Sea crossing, with more than 3,000. IOM says the total number of deaths among migrants in 2023 was nearly 20% more than the previous year. It said most of the deaths last year came from drowning. The count also includes migrants who vanished — often while trying to cross by sea — and are presumed dead.