Nearly 50 people have died of thirst in the Sahara desert after the truck carrying them from Mali to Niger broke down in a remote area, local authorities said.
The victims, all Nigerien nationals, were returning home to their families when their vehicle became lost and later broke down near the borders of Mali and Algeria, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the governor of Niger’s Agadez region.
Authorities said the travellers were left stranded without water and were unable to repair the truck in an area where extreme heat and the absence of supply points made survival almost impossible.
Two men managed to walk dozens of kilometres to reach the nearest town and alert authorities.
Responders later found the bodies of 49 people under the stranded truck and in the surrounding area. The victims were buried in mass graves dug at the site.
The rescue team also assisted another truck that had been stranded for three days with more than 60 people on board after its battery failed.
Many young Nigeriens travel to Mali to work in artisanal mining sites, despite the risks posed by harsh desert conditions and militant activity in the region.