Around 35 migrants, including women and children, die in Niger desert, mayor says

DAKAR, Senegal – The mayor of the northern Niger town of Agadez says that around 35 migrants, including women and children, who were being smuggled to Algeria died of thirst and dehydration in the Sahara Desert after their truck broke down.

Mayor Rhissa Feltou said Monday that this occurred as long as two weeks ago, but authorities are only learning of it now after survivors managed to make it out of the desert. He said at least 60 people were travelling on two trucks, and one of the two broke down around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Arlit, on the sand path to Tamanrasset, a town in southern Algeria.

The path is a well-known trafficker’s route for taking people to North Africa, from where they can try to board boats to Europe.