A 70-year-old French tourist from Dijon was found dead in Chad after going missing on Wednesday. He had set off with a friend, also French, without a guide to explore the Guelta de Bachikele area, a Saharan oasis in the Ennedi Massif mountains. Both men left their group early without permission during a trip organized for the International Festival of Saharan Cultures in Amdjarass. The festival features concerts and dance by artists from Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. Authorities noticed the men were missing by early afternoon and launched a search. After two hours, one man was found lost, saying he tried to stop his companion from continuing. The dead tourist's body was found in the Bachekele mountains. Abakar Rozi Teguil, Chad's culture minister, said, "We found the body in the Bachekele mountains and are waiting for the prosecutor to record the findings before any evacuation to N’Djamena." Search efforts included motorcycles, jeeps, camels, drones, and an army plane. The man was part of a group of about 50 people on a trip organized by a French travel agency and cultural association.