Nearly 50 people die of thirst in Sahara desert after lorry breaks down
Some 50 people are reported to have died of thirst in the Sahara desert after a lorry transporting migrants northward broke down. Officials said the survivors had been taken to hospital. The incident has highlighted the dangerous migration route from the Sahel toward the Mediterranean.
BBC AfricaThe BBC reports that some 50 migrants died of thirst in the Sahara desert after a lorry travelling toward Libya broke down. According to officials, the group was stranded in the desert for days without aid arriving. The small number of survivors were brought to the nearest settlement and transferred to hospital.
Most of the victims are reported to have come from West African countries. Humanitarian organisations active in the region say that despite the desert route claiming hundreds of lives each year, it is not adequately monitored. The International Organization for Migration says records are limited but the true toll may be far higher than reported figures.
The incident has revived debate over the dangerous migration route that runs from the Sahel through Libya to the Mediterranean. A lack of coordination between regional governments and limited search-and-rescue capacity across the desert are highlighted as key problems. Experts stress that the issue is not only one of security but also of development and legal migration pathways.
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