GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Last year was the deadliest year for migrants, with nearly 9,000 people dying worldwide, the United Nations said last Friday, calling the “tragedy… unacceptable and preventable”.

“At least 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2024,” the fifth year that numbers have reached record highs, the UN’s migration agency said.

“The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable,” said Ugochi Daniels, the deputy director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating,” Daniels said.

“The actual number of migrant deaths and disappearances is likely much higher, as many have gone undocumented because of the dearth of official sources,” the IOM said.

It added that the identities and other details of the majority of victims were unknown.

Asia, Africa and Europe had record numbers of people dying in 2024 with 2,778, 2,242 and 233, respectively.

A total of 2,452 people were recorded as dying in the Mediterranean Sea, the main gateway for those trying to reach Europe, it said.

Final data were not available yet for the Americas but figures so far show at least 1,233 people died.

These included “an unprecedented 341 lives lost in the Caribbean in 2024 and a record 174 deaths of migrants crossing the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama”.

The Darien jungle was at one point the main migratory corridor for people trying to reach the United States.