Fifty people have died of dehydration in the Sahara Desert after a lorry carrying a group of migrants broke down in a remote area, according to officials. British aid charities are mobilising to provide assistance, though the exact location of the incident remains unclear. The lorry, reportedly travelling from Niger to Libya, suffered a mechanical failure in the scorching heat, leaving passengers stranded without water.
Local authorities in southern Libya discovered the survivors and bodies on Tuesday, with many victims succumbing to extreme temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius over several days. The United Nations has confirmed that among the dead were women and children. The British Red Cross and Oxfam have announced emergency response teams are being deployed to support survivors, who are receiving medical treatment for severe dehydration and heatstroke.
The incident highlights the ongoing dangers faced by migrants crossing the Sahara, where thousands have died in recent years. A spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration stated that such tragedies underscore the need for safer legal migration routes. The British Foreign Office is in contact with Libyan authorities to assess whether any British nationals were involved, though initial reports suggest the group was primarily from sub-Saharan African nations.
