Nearly 50 people die of thirst after truck breakdown in Niger desert
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\nNigerien authorities say at least 49 people died of thirst in an isolated Sahara desert district in northern Niger after their truck broke down, leaving them stranded for days.<\/p>\n
According to Al-Jazeera, the dead were among a group returning from Mali to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha with their families in Niger when they ran short of water, the Agadez governorate said on Friday in a post on Facebook.<\/p>\n
The 49 people \u201cdied of thirst in a remote area more than 80km (50 miles) west of Assamaka\u201d, added the statement. Assamaka is a main crossing point between Niger and Algeria but also close to the Mali frontier.<\/p>\n
Two people, however, managed to survive after walking more than 50km (31 miles) on foot to a water source and then onwards to Assamaka, where they managed to alert the authorities, the governorate said.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear what led to the breakdown or how long the passengers waited. Attempts by the driver, his assistants and the passengers to repair the truck failed.<\/p>\n
The desert zone is a known transit point for refugees and migrants seeking to get from African nations to Europe, with many dying from thirst or starvation in the scorching sands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly 50 people die of thirst after truck breakdown in Niger desert ——————————— Nigerien authorities say at least 49 people died of thirst in an isolated Sahara desert district in northern Niger after their truck broke down, leaving them stranded for days. According to Al-Jazeera, the dead were among a group returning from Mali to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[8645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-niger"],"yoast_head":"\n