Six Sierra Leoneans, including two women and four children have been found dead in the Tunisian Sahara Desert, the Sierra Leone Embassy in Egypt has confirmed on Monday.

The information detailed that the victims set off on a perilous journey from Algeria to Tunisia through the Sahara Desert in an effort to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe when they faced their tragic demise in the Republic of Tunisia axis near the border with Algeria.

The source further revealed that the corpses of the six (6) were discovered by Tunisian Security personnel who routinely patrol frontiers to maintain security and prevent illegal immigration. The victims who include a mother, her four children, two of whom are twins and another young lady were discovered dead in the Sahara Desert near the border with Algeria amid the recent severe heatwave that swept across Tunisia, the whole Mediterranean and part of Europe.

The migrants are presumed to have “died of thirst,” said the Tunisian official, speaking on condition of anonymity told Infomigrants.net

The remains of the deceased are in custody of the Tunisia security authorities awaiting autopsy, at the same time, working with the community towards establishing the true identity of the dead.

Family members where reached and they claimed that the bodies are their family members at the moment consultations are going on between the Embassy and the Tunisia authorities who are leading the facts-finding mission, the Governor of the Tunisia Tozeur region, the international Organization for migration (IOM), international Committee of the Red cross (CRC), the Sierra Leone community in Tunisia and the family members.

The Embassy will continue to work closely with the Tunisia authorities to validate the veracity of this information and the result of our finding will be duly communicated to the appropriate authorities and the general public in this regards.