More than 3,000 people died in the Mediterranean and Atlantic while trying to reach Europe last year -- double the toll from 2020, the United Nations said Friday.
A fresh report from the UN refugee agency demanded urgent action to combat surging deaths among refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants trying to reach Europe.
The report showed that for 2021, 1,924 people were reported dead or missing on the Central and Western Mediterranean routes, while another 1,153 perished on the North African maritime route to the Canary Islands.
The UNHCR report showed that 53,323 migrants arrived by boat in Italy last year -- an 83-percent-hike over 2020.
And 23,042 arrived in the Canary Islands, nearly the same number as a year earlier, it said.
The report also noted a 61-percent hike in departures from Tunisia compared to 2020, while departures from conflict-torn Libya shot up 150 percent.
They took the Central Mediterranean route, which is the world's deadliest.
More than 17,000 people have died or gone missing along this route since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
