44 Nigerians, Ghanaians ‘die of thirst’ in Sahara Desert

4 Nigerians and Ghanaians have died of thirst after their truck broke down in the Sahara Desert in northern Niger Republic, survivors said.

Several children were among the dead.

The six survivors, all women, walked to a remote village, where they are being looked after in Dirkou, Niger, Red Cross official Lawal Taher told the BBC.

So far no one has visited the site to identify the bodies, Mr Taher added.

The Ghanaians and Nigerians were trying to get to Libya, reports Nigerien news site Sahelien.

Italy’s Ministry of Interior released figures on nationalities of migrants arriving the country so far in 2017, ranked Nigeria as the country with second highest number of migrants’ origin with 3,159 after Guinea (Conakry) which has 3168.

The route from Niger to Libya is one of the main ways migrants reach North Africa before crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

Crossing the Sahara is one of the most perilous parts of the journey as migrants are crammed into pickup trucks, often with only enough room for a few litres of water, Reuters news agency reported.

Last June, the bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, were found in the Sahara Desert near Niger’s border with Algeria.

It appeared they had died of thirst after being abandoned by their smuggler, a government minister said at the time.