At least seven migrants from Sudan have been found dead after their vehicle broke down and left them stranded for days deep in the Libyan desert, according to an ambulance service official.
The car was carrying 34 Sudanese nationals when it broke down crossing Libya’s border from Chad and onto a deserted path often used by smugglers, Ebrahim Belhassan, director of the Kufra Ambulance and Emergency Services, said.
They were discovered in the sand dunes after 11 days, having run out of food and water, he said.
“The survivors were almost about to die. They are severely dehydrated and exhibiting signs of distress and trauma with such circumstances and given that they’re seeing those around them dying and they know if they will die next,” he said.
The 22 people rescued, including five children, were transferred to Kufra for medical checks.
Five people are missing, but Belhassan said hopes were slim they would survive on foot in the vast desert.
A smuggler who found them alerted emergency crews, Belhassan said.
Libya, which shares borders with six nations and has a long coastline along the Mediterranean, is a main transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, and often trying to reach Europe.
The International Organization for Migration estimates around 787,000 migrants and refugees from various nationalities lived in Libya as of 2024.
During last year, the Kufra ambulance service responded to emergencies involving more than 260 Sudanese migrants found in the desert, Belhassan said.
