Nearly 50 die of thirst in Niger after truck breaks down in remote Sahara desert

File photo: Three men walk through the desert after crossing the Assamaka border post in northern Niger on June 3, 2018. © Jerome Delay, AP

Forty-nine people died of thirst in Niger when a truck broke down in a remote part of the Sahara desert, leaving its passengers stranded without water. Two survivors managed to walk 50 kilometres through the desert to a water source and then to the town of Assamaka, where they alerted authorities.

Forty-nine people died of thirst in an isolated Sahara desert district in Niger after the truck transporting them broke down, authorities said Thursday.