Fifty-two migrants have been found dead in the deserts of central Niger, near Séguédine, the BBC reported Tuesday.

A group of 75 set out in three vehicles but were abandoned by traffickers, who feared the security forces.

A local official said that dozens of bodies had been buried, and 23 survivors were taken to the town, although one later died.

African migrants travel through the desert aiming to reach Libya and cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Two weeks ago Niger troops rescued 92 migrants who were on the brink of death in the Sahara Desert.

The group, which included women and children, was abandoned without water and food.

Source: MENA