Forty-nine Nigerien nationals have died in the desert in northern Niger after a truck carrying around one hundred passengers broke down in a remote area, according to the Nigerien News Agency (ANP).
The travellers had been returning from Mali to celebrate Eid al-Adha with their families.
The incident reportedly occurred about 80 kilometres west of Assamaka, in the Agadez region, near the border zone between Niger, Mali and Algeria.
According to the official report, the convoy had departed from Telhandek in Mali, located roughly 300 kilometres from the Nigerien border. After losing its way in the desert, the vehicle broke down, leaving passengers stranded without water or the possibility of continuing their journey.
Alerted to the tragedy, the governor of the Agadez region, Major General Ibra Boulama Issa, dispatched a mission to the site led by the prefect of Arlit department, Lieutenant Colonel Almoustapha Ousmane, accompanied by security and defence personnel.
Preliminary findings indicate that several bodies were found beneath and around the immobilised truck. Rescue teams, facing extremely harsh conditions, buried the 49 victims in mass graves at the site, according to the same source.
The ANP also reported that two people survived the ordeal. The survivors reportedly walked more than 50 kilometres before reaching a water point and then the locality of Assamaka, where they raised the alarm.
Authorities in the region expressed condolences to the bereaved families and offered prayers for the victims.
The tragedy highlights once again the extreme dangers faced by travellers and migrants crossing the Sahel’s desert routes, where long distances, extreme temperatures and the lack of rescue infrastructure can turn even a simple breakdown into a fatal situation.
AC/Sf/lb/as/APA