87 migrants found dead in Sahara desert

Rescue workers in Niger found the bodies of 87 people who died of thirst after their vehicles broke down as they tried to cross the Sahara.

A rescue worker said the corpses were in a severe state of decomposition and had been partly eaten, probably by jackals.

Those found are thought to be migrant workers and their families. Most were women and children.

Niger lies on a major migrant route between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.

It seems that one of the vehicles that the migrants were travelling in broke down some time after they left Arlit at the end of September or beginning of October.

It appears that some of the group set out on foot, including up to 10 people who made it back to Arlit and raised the alarm, he said.

On Wednesday, volunteers and soldiers working in searing heat found numerous corpses about 10km from the Algerian border.

"We found them in different locations in a 20km radius and in small groups, often under trees, or under the sun. Sometimes a mother and children, but some lone children too," the worker said.

They were given Muslim burials where they were found, he added.

Given that at least 48 of those found were children or teenagers, it was possible they were on their way to low paid jobs in neighbouring Algeria.

It is not clear which countries the migrants came from.

About 80,000 migrants cross the Sahara desert through Niger, according to John Ging, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and frequently suffers from drought and food crises.