According to a report released Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration's Global Migration Data Analysis Center in Berlin, 2,901 people died or disappeared crossing the Mediterranean in the first six months of 2016, a 37 percent increase over the same period last year.
Most of those deaths occurred on the so-called Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy, the Associated Press reported.
It's always been the most dangerous route, but the organization says there are now more instances where smugglers are sending multiple boats at once, making rescue operations more difficult. Newer routes, particularly from Egypt, are longer and riskier.