Nearly 50 people die of thirst in Sahara desert after lorry breaks down
Key takeaways
- Wycliffe Muia Agadez governorate/Facebook.
- The group had been returning from Mali where they had attended a Muslim festival when they ran out of water, stranded more than 80 km (50 miles) west of Assamaka, a major border crossing point between Niger and Algeria.
- "The travellers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and lack of supply points make survival extremely difficult," said a statement from the Agadez governor.
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Wycliffe Muia Agadez governorate/Facebook. The victims were buried in mass graves by the rescue team dispatched to the area At least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote part of the Sahara desert in northern Niger after the truck carrying them broke down, authorities said.
The group had been returning from Mali where they had attended a Muslim festival when they ran out of water, stranded more than 80 km (50 miles) west of Assamaka, a major border crossing point between Niger and Algeria.
"The travellers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and lack of supply points make survival extremely difficult," said a statement from the Agadez governor.