At least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote stretch of the Sahara Desert in northern Niger after the truck transporting them broke down, leaving them stranded in extreme heat and without access to water.
Authorities said only two survivors managed to reach Assamaka, a major border town between Niger and Algeria, where they alerted officials to the tragedy.
The victims were reportedly returning from a religious festival in neighbouring Mali when their vehicle broke down more than 80 kilometres west of Assamaka.
According to authorities in Niger’s Agadez region, the group became trapped in one of the harshest parts of the desert, where soaring temperatures and the absence of water sources made survival extremely difficult.
In a statement, the governor’s office said the travellers were stranded in a hostile environment after their truck veered off its intended route shortly after leaving the Malian town of Telhandek.
Despite repeated efforts by the driver, his assistant and passengers to repair the vehicle, they were unable to get it moving again.
“Without water and unable to repair the vehicle, the travellers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and lack of supply points make survival extremely difficult,” the statement said.
Rescue officials later discovered dozens of bodies beneath and around the immobilised truck, with most victims believed to have died from severe dehydration.
Emergency teams deployed to the area recovered the remains and conducted mass burials near the site of the incident.
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