Heartbreaking

49 die of thirst in Niger desert after truck breaks down

ABIDJAN: Forty-nine people died of thirst in an isolated Sahara desert district in Niger after the truck transporting them broke down, authorities said Thursday. The dead were among a group returning from Mali for a Muslim festival when they ran short of water, the Agadez governorate said in a post on Facebook. The 49 people “died of thirst in a remote area more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Assamaka,” added the statement. Assamaka is a main crossing point between Niger and Algeria but also close to the Mali frontier.