Eleven American college students who got lost in a Thailand jungle were rescued by authorities after climbing to the top of a waterfall and using their cell phones to call for help.
Authorities said the students, ages 18 to 22, were in Thailand on a six-week exchange program at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Science in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The young scientists — 10 women and one man — entered the trail near Huai Tueng Thao reservoir for a field trip at 2pm on Wednesday, Coconuts Bangkok reported.
Eleven American college exchange students were rescued after getting lost in a Thailand jungle while on a field trip Wednesday. They’re pictured here with their rescue party
About two hours into the trip, they got lost.
In an attempt to rescue themselves, the Americans kept walking around the jungle, hoping to find a local village or some other exit out of the jungle, local outlet Sanook reported.
The group wound up on a cliff above Tak Mok waterfall — said to be between 700 to 1,000 feet high — as darkness fell.
At about 7pm, the students managed to get cell phone reception and called the tourism office, sending them their GPS location.
Officials from Doi Suthep–Pui National Park and Huay Tueng Tao Reservoir Tourism Office, as well as soldiers and other rescuers found the students early Thursday morning, Thai Residents reported.
The students, ages 18 to 22, entered the national park at about 2pm. Within two hours, they had gotten lost in the jungle and spent the next five hours attempting to find a way out
The students were rescued early Thursday morning after climbing to the top of a cliff and being able to get cell phone reception again
Five hours after entering the jungle, the students climbed a cliff over the Tak Mok waterfall, where they were able to get a cell phone signal and send their GPS coordinates to authorities
The students were said to have been about 2.5miles from the trail entrance. Rangers drove to their location and then walked about half a mile deeper into the jungle to reach the group.
A video posted on Facebook by PR Thai Government shows the moments when the students were found and emerged from the jungle.
According to Col. Supakorn Ruensati, who manages the tourism office, tourists are supposed to secure official permission to hike in that area and need to be accompanied by rangers for their safety.
Authorities said the students claimed they didn’t know the rules, despite signs prohibiting unsupervised entrance, Chiang Mai News reported.
Authorities have not yet named the rescued students.