49 people die of thirst in the Sahara after truck breaks down near Niger–Algeria–Mali border
A truck carrying travellers returning from Mali for Eid al-Adha broke down in a remote part of the Sahara, leaving 49 people dead from dehydration. Two survivors walked over 50 kilometres to raise the alarm.
The breakdown
Forty-nine people died of thirst in a remote area of the Sahara after the truck they were travelling in broke down. The vehicle was returning from Mali, where the passengers had been celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which took place at the end of May. According to local authorities in the Agadez region, the truck became stranded more than 80 kilometres west of the settlement of Assamaka, in the border zone between Algeria, Niger and Mali.
The governorate of Agadez stated on Facebook that the travellers were "deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle despite the efforts of the driver, his apprentices and the passengers." The group was trapped in an environment where extreme temperatures and the absence of supply points made survival extremely difficult. Some bodies were found scattered around the truck, others underneath it.
Deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle despite the efforts of the driver, his apprentices 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 any survival extremely difficult.
The survivors
Two people survived the ordeal. They walked more than 50 kilometres on foot through the desert until they reached a water source, then continued another 30 kilometres to Assamaka, where they alerted the authorities and triggered the search and rescue operation. The exact date the vehicle broke down is not clear, but the passengers are believed to have fought for their lives over several days.
A second stranded truck
While returning from the site, the rescue team discovered a second truck immobilised about 60 kilometres from Assamaka. It was carrying more than 60 people who had been stranded for three days due to a battery failure. Those passengers had left a Malian gold-mining site located more than 300 kilometres from the Nigerien border. The delegation provided assistance to repair the vehicle, allowing the passengers to continue their journey and avoiding a similar tragedy.
- Eid al-Adha celebrations conclude in Mali; passengers begin return journey to Niger.
- Truck carrying approximately 100 people breaks down in remote desert west of Assamaka.
- Water supplies exhausted; passengers attempt repairs without success.
- Two survivors reach a water source after walking over 50 km, then continue to Assamaka.
- Authorities alerted; rescue team recovers 49 bodies and discovers second stranded truck with 60+ people.
Burial and response
The 49 bodies were recovered and buried in mass graves at the site, a task described as emotionally gruelling under extreme desert conditions. Regional and government authorities expressed their compassion to the bereaved families and paid tribute to the resilience of the survivors. Estimates suggest the truck may have been carrying around 100 people, raising the possibility that the final death toll could be higher.
A deadly migration route
The desert area where the tragedy occurred is a known transit point for sub-Saharan migrants attempting to reach Europe, and such incidents are recurrent. In 2025, at least 35 migrants died in the Nigerien desert, according to the NGO Alarme Phone Sahara. In October 2013, 92 Nigerien migrants (33 women, 52 children and 7 men) died of thirst in the desert after people smugglers abandoned them following a vehicle breakdown near the Algerian border.
