At least 49 people have died of thirst in a remote part of the Sahara Desert in northern Niger after the truck they were traveling in broke down, authorities said. The BBC reports.

The group was returning from Mali, where they had attended a Muslim festival, when they ran out of water, stranded more than 80 km west of Assamaka , a major border crossing between Niger and Algeria.

"The travelers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment, where extreme temperatures and the lack of resupply points make survival extremely difficult," reads a statement from the governor of Agadez. Only two survived: they crossed the desert to Assamaka, where authorities were alerted.

The truck had departed from the Malian town of Telhandek but had deviated from its planned route, the governor's statement read. For several days, the driver and passengers repeatedly attempted to repair the vehicle, but their efforts were unsuccessful .

"Deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle despite the efforts of the driver, his apprentice, and the passengers, the travelers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment," the statement added. "Dozens of lifeless bodies were found under the truck and in its immediate vicinity," the statement reads.

(Unioneonline)

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