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Nearly 8,000 individuals either died or went missing on migration routes last year, with maritime routes leading to Europe being the deadliest. Many victims are lost in “invisible shipwrecks,” where entire boats vanish at sea without a trace, a UN agency reported Tuesday.
Maria Moita, head of the International Organization for Migration’s humanitarian and response division, said, “These figures highlight our collective failure to prevent these tragedies,” during a press briefing in Geneva.
While the number of deaths and disappearances—7,904—has decreased from a record high of 9,197 in 2024, the IOM noted that this decline is partly due to approximately 1,500 suspected cases that could not be verified because of reduced aid efforts.
More than 40% of these fatalities and missing persons occurred along sea routes to Europe. The report warned of so-called “invisible shipwrecks,” where entire vessels are lost at sea and never recovered. The West African route northward accounted for around 1,200 deaths, and Asia reported a record number of fatalities, including hundreds of Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar and cramped refugee camps in Bangladesh.
“The routes are changing in response to ongoing conflicts, climate pressures, and policy shifts, but the dangers remain very real,” stated Amy Pope, director-general of the IOM. “Behind these numbers are individuals undertaking perilous journeys and families waiting anxiously for news that may never arrive.”
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