NEARLY 50 people have died after a truck broke down and left them stranded to slowly die of thirst in the scorching Sahara desert.

The doomed group suffered a long and agonising death after getting lost in one of the most hostile regions on earth.

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Bodies were found scattered around and even beneath the stranded truck Credit: ActuNiger

Nearly 50 people died during a journey through the Sahara desert Credit: Getty

They had no water, no phone signal and no hope of rescue for days.

The truck, packed with passengers, had set off from the Malian town of Telhandek but veered off course.

They broke down deep in the desert in the deadly border zone between Algeria, Niger and Mali.

For days, the driver and passengers desperately tried to fix the vehicle – but their efforts failed.

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Trapped in the middle of nowhere, their water supplies quickly ran out as brutal heat closed in.

The governorate detailed: “Extreme temperatures and the absence of supply points make any survival extremely difficult.”

One by one, the victims collapsed in the relentless heat – their bodies later found scattered around and even beneath the stranded truck.

The horror unfolded more than 80km west of Assamaka, in a bleak and unforgiving stretch of desert known for swallowing up migrants attempting the perilous journey towards Europe.

By the time rescuers arrived, it was too late.

Authorities were forced to bury the dead in mass graves Credit: ActuNiger

Map of the African Sahara Desert and the Sahel Credit: Rainer Lesniewski

At least 49 bodies were recovered from the scene, with authorities forced to bury the dead in mass graves under extreme conditions.

The victims had been travelling back from Mali for Eid celebrations.

In a small glimmer of hope, at least two survivors managed to escape the death trap.

They staggered for dozens of kilometres through the desert before finally reaching water and making it to Assamaka, where they raised the alarm.

Their desperate escape triggered a rescue mission – but fears remain that more victims may still be unaccounted for.

Eyewitnesses say the truck was carrying around 100 passengers, raising the possibility that the death toll could climb even higher.

And in a chilling twist, authorities returning from the scene stumbled upon yet another disaster waiting to happen.

A second truck, carrying more than 60 people, was found stranded over 60km away – its passengers trapped for three days after a battery failure in the same unforgiving wilderness.

That group had been travelling from a remote gold mining site near the Malian border, facing the same deadly fate before being discovered.

The Sahara crossing, a key route for African migrants heading towards Europe, has long been a graveyard of tragedies.

The region’s extreme heat, lack of water and total absence of communication make survival almost impossible when things go wrong.

In 2025 alone, at least 35 migrants died in Niger’s desert, according to NGO Alarm Phone Sahara.

And in one of the deadliest disasters, 92 migrants – including 52 children – died of thirst in 2013 after being abandoned by smugglers when their vehicles broke down.

Despite the risks, desperate travellers continue to attempt the crossing – with tens of thousands expelled from Algeria into Niger each year.