At least 520 migrants have died this year while trying to trek to the United States of America, according to a report by the Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday morning. The report quoted data compiled by the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants project.

“Migrant fatalities happen in the Western Hemisphere from the southwestern U.S. to the Caribbean Sea to Central and South America. Boats capsize and river-crossers are swept away by currents. People get lost or abandoned in the desert without water. Disease and health emergencies strike. Cars crash. Trains crush hangers-on. Fingers pull gun triggers.

By the end of August, more than 520 migrants in the Americas died or went missing and are presumed dead, making 2019 the deadliest year for migrants in five years,” the report said.

It noted that “half of the deaths documented in the Americas this year occurred near the U.S.-Mexico border, where bodies or skeletons are regularly found in the desert. U.S.

agents patrolling the Rio Grande frequently search the river for missing children or entire families swept under the current while trying to swim across and reach U.S. soil.”

•Photo shows a woman holding a candle observes a minute of silence in memory of migrants who have died during their journey toward the U.S., near the border fence that separates Mexico from the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico, June 29, 2019.