(VOVworld) - The number of migrants feared to have died or remain missing on migratory routes around the world has soared to nearly 7,200 this year, a more than 20-percent increase over 2015, with most of the fatalities in the Mediterranean.

Migrant deaths soar globally, most in Mediterranean: IOM (photo: Daily Times)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) predicted Friday that another 200 to 300 people could perish by the end of the year. The Mediterranean Sea route remains by far the world's deadliest, accounting for over 60 percent of the missing cases.
Migrant deaths have also risen this year along other migratory routes, including over land in both northern and southern Africa, in Central and Latin America, and at the United States-Mexico border.