{"id":7083,"date":"2026-06-05T15:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/at-least-49-people-die-of-thirst-after-truck-breakdown-in-niger-desert\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:35:26","slug":"at-least-49-people-die-of-thirst-after-truck-breakdown-in-niger-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/at-least-49-people-die-of-thirst-after-truck-breakdown-in-niger-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 49 people die of thirst after truck breakdown in Niger desert"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Two people managed to survive after walking more than 50km to a water source and then a nearby town, where they alerted the authorities.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2026\/3\/23\/sahel-is-no-longer-fooled-niger-civil-society-leader\">\u2018Sahel is no longer fooled\u2019 Niger civil society leader<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/gallery\/2026\/3\/20\/photos-muslims-celebrate-eid-al-fitr-around-the-world-amid-shadow-of-war\">Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr around the world amid shadow of war<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/3\/moscow-confirms-russian-forces-helped-repel-isil-attack-on-niger-airport\">Moscow confirms Russian forces helped repel ISIL attack on Niger airport<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>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<p>\u201cDeprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle despite the efforts of the driver, his assistants and the passengers, the travellers found themselves trapped in the heart of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and the absence of supply points make survival extremely difficult,\u201d said the governorate, adding that rescuers buried the victims in mass graves.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>A delegation sent to the scene by the Agadez Region Governor General Ibra Boulama Issa learned the truck had travelled for several days from the Malian town of Talhandek, about 300km (187 miles) from the Nigerien border.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>\u201cOn the spot, the findings were particularly disturbing. Dozens of lifeless bodies were found under the immobile truck and in its surroundings,\u201d the Agadez governorate said.<\/p>\n<p>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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two people managed to survive after walking more than 50km to a water source and then a nearby town, where they alerted the authorities. 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. The dead &#8230; <a title=\"At least 49 people die of thirst after truck breakdown in Niger desert\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/at-least-49-people-die-of-thirst-after-truck-breakdown-in-niger-desert\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about At least 49 people die of thirst after truck breakdown in Niger desert\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}