Forty-nine people died of thirst in the Saharan desert of northern Niger after the truck carrying them broke down, the governorate of Agadez announced on Thursday 4 June. The victims, all Nigerien nationals, had been travelling from Harouba, a town in neighbouring Mali known for its artisanal gold-mining sites, to celebrate Eid al-Adha with their families back home. Their truck is believed to have become lost before breaking down after several days of travel through the desert, leaving passengers trapped in extreme heat with no access to water or supplies.

The alarm was raised by two survivors who managed to walk dozens of kilometres through the desert to reach the settlement of Assamaka, near Niger's border with Algeria. Local authorities immediately dispatched a delegation, which found the bodies of the 49 victims and buried them on the spot. On the return journey, the same delegation came across a second stranded vehicle that had been immobilised for three days, carrying 60 passengers — all of whom were rescued in time.

Agadez, the vast northern region that borders Mali, Algeria, and Libya, sits at the heart of one of the world's most inhospitable environments. The area is also a major transit corridor for migrants attempting to reach Europe via North Africa, and has seen repeated tragedies of this kind over the years. The governorate noted that the events serve as a stark reminder of