Truck breakdown in Niger strands passengers and leaves at least 49 dead in the Sahara Desert
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) – At least 49 people died of dehydration when a truck broke down and left them stranded for days in the Sahara Desert north of Niger, authorities said.
The victims, all Nigerians, were returning home from a religious festival in Mali when the truck stopped working 80 kilometers (49 miles) west of Assamaka, near the border of Mali and Algeria, the governor’s office of Niger’s Agadez region said in an online post late Thursday.
The two men survived by hiking more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) to a water source and then continuing to Assamaka, where they alerted authorities, the governor’s office said.
A delegation sent to the scene by Agadez Region Governor Gen. Ibra Boulama Issa learned that the truck had been traveling for several days from the Malian town of Talhandek, about 300 kilometers (187 miles) from the Nigerian border.
It was not immediately clear what caused the malfunction or how long passengers waited.
Agadez Governorship said, “At the scene, the findings were particularly alarming. Dozens of lifeless bodies were found under and around the immobile truck.”
Photos published by the governor’s office showed bodies in the desert, with pieces of clothing and other belongings scattered around.
“Deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle, despite the best efforts of the driver, his apprentice, and the passengers, they found themselves trapped in a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and a lack of supply points made survival extremely difficult,” the governor’s office said.
The 49 victims were buried in mass graves at the scene, which authorities described as “a particularly delicate and emotionally taxing task” for the survivors.
