US-Mexico border is world's deadliest land migration route, IOM finds

FILE PHOTO: A gap in the U.S.-Mexico border fence near Sasabe, Arizona, U.S., May 10, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.S.-Mexico border is the world's deadliest land migration route, according to U.N. migration agency figures published on Tuesday, with hundreds losing their lives attempting to make perilous desert crossings.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) documented 686 deaths and disappearances among migrants on the frontier last year, but the actual figure is likely higher due missing data, including from the Texas border county coroner's offices and the Mexican search and rescue agency.