Rising numbers of people migrating through Latin America toward the US have driven up the number of migrant deaths on the route and Latin America has now displaced the Mediterranean crossing as the deadliest route for migrants in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration. A decline in circular migration in Latin America has led smugglers to resort to more dangerous methods to turn a profit, says IOM spokesperson Joel Millman.

The International Organization for Migration is urging local leaders to take action to prevent further deaths as migrants from Africa risk their lives on overcrowded boats seeking work and other options for a better future. Rescuers have retrieved 52 bodies so far from two boats that capsized off the coast of Djibouti this week.

Social networking companies such as Facebook and WhatsApp have not taken enough action to prevent their platforms from being used for human trafficking, says International Organization for Migration spokesperson Leonard Doyle. "People like to point fingers over the migration crisis, but a big part of it must be that the guy or the girl in the village with nothing but a cracked smartphone can actually meet a smuggler in a heartbeat," Doyle says.

Close to three times as many migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa have died this year compared to last year, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 104,000 migrants have made the crossing to Europe this year and 2,075 have died in the attempt, the IOM says.