The bodies were found about two weeks after the group died, presumably from thirst.

The bodies of 20 people who got lost in the Libyan desert have been found, according to rescuers, who presume the group died of thirst.

The bodies were discovered by a truck driver crossing the desert and were found on Tuesday about 320 kilometers (198 miles) southwest of Kufra and 120 km (74 miles) from the border with Chad.

“The driver got lost…and we believe the group died in the desert about 14 days ago since the last call on a cell phone on June 13,” the head of the ambulance said by phone on Wednesday. Kufra, Ibrahim Belhasan.

The sparsely populated region regularly experiences summer temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

The ambulance service posted a video on Facebook showing decomposing bodies in the desert sand near a pickup truck.

Two of the bodies were Libyans and the others are believed to be migrants from Chad crossing into Libya, Belhasan said.

Since the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that ousted and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has become the main transit point for people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and parts of the Middle East. East, hoping for a better life in Europe via the dangerous route. across the desert and the Mediterranean.

But many die en route, including in the harsh Sahara Desert.

According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 1,500 refugees drowned in numerous boating accidents and shipwrecks on the central Mediterranean route last year.