Nearly 50 people died while traveling through the Saraha Desert on their way from Mali back to their homes in Niger, officials said on Friday. File Photo by NASA/UPI | License Photo
June 5 (UPI) -- Dozens of people died of thirst in the Sahara Desert in a northern region of Niger after their truck broke down and they were stuck without water for days.
The people on the truck were returning to Niger from celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in Mali when the truck broke down roughly 50 miles from Assamaka, a border crossing from Algeria to Niger, The BBC and Euronews reported.
Mali shares a northeastern border with Algeria and a southwestern border with Niger.
Two people survived the 50-mile walk from the broken-down truck to Assamaka on a hunt for water and told authorities in the city.
