Nearly 50 people die of thirst in Sahara desert after lorry breaks down

At least 49 people died of dehydration when the truck carrying them broke down in a remote part of the Sahara Desert in northern Niger, authorities said.

The group was returning from Mali, where they had attended a Muslim festival, and when they ran out of water, they became stranded 80 km (50 miles) west of Assamaka, a key border crossing point between Niger and Algeria.

“Travelers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and a lack of supply points made survival extremely difficult,” a statement from the governor of Agadez said.

Only two people survived as they trekked across the desert to Assamaka, where they alerted the authorities.

In the governor’s statement, it was stated that the truck left the Malian town of Telhandek but deviated from the intended route.

Over several days, the driver and passengers made repeated attempts to repair the vehicle, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

“Despite the best efforts of the driver, his apprentice and the passengers, deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle, they found themselves trapped in the middle of a hostile environment,” the statement said. statements were included.

“Dozens of dead bodies were found under and around the stationary truck,” it was said.

The victims were buried in mass graves by the rescue team sent to the region by local authorities.

The rescue team said that while returning from the scene, they came across a broken-down truck carrying more than 60 people who were stranded for three days after a battery failure.

The truck set out from the Malian town of Harouba, more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Niger border, the governor said in his next statement.

The rescue team, which included Nigerian soldiers, distributed water to the “tired and distressed passengers” and helped repair the vehicle, allowing them to continue their journey safely.

The Niger desert remains an important transit corridor for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa, repeatedly defying the risks associated with this perilous journey.

The governor said the tragedy highlighted “the vulnerability of young people engaged in immigration and cross-border economic activities, who are often forced to move through unstable regions to survive or seek better living conditions.”

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