CHIANG MAI: Eleven American exchange students who became lost in the jungle at Huay Tueng Thao reservoir on Wednesday were found by rescuers around midnight and led to safety.
The rescue operation began shortly after 7pm on Wednesday when one of the students used a mobile phone to call local tourist police, said Col Supakon Rueansati, manager of the office for tourism promotion of the reservoir, a popular recreation area for locals and visitors in Mae Rim district.
A team consisting of soldiers, rescuers and staff of the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, found the lost students at Pha Nok cliff, above Tat Mok waterfall, using the GPS location of the phone used contact the police, he said.
The rescue team had to travel on foot for 800m after travelling in a pickup truck with four-wheel drive for 4 kilometres to the nearest possible spot, he said.
The students - a male and 10 females, aged 18-22 years - gave a big round of applause when they saw the rescue team arrive at the 80-metre-high cliff and embraced them in appreciation, he said. Some of the students cried with joy.
The students told the rescuers they were here on a six-week exchange programme with Chiang Mai University's faculty of science.
They hired a songthaew taxi from the university to Huay Tueng Thao and began trekking into the jungle at 2pm, heading for Tat Mok waterfall. They became lost, and then night fell. Stranded in the dark, they decided to call the police for help, he said.
Fortunately for them, they were not out of range of mobile phone signals, he said.
Tourist police had contacted him, requesting assistance in coordinating the search for them.
The reservoir normally closed at 6pm and the cliff area where the students were found was not safe for visitors who were not familiar the area, especially at night. They were told to stay put until they were rescued, Col Supakon said.
The young Americans had entered the forest without informing the tourist relations staff at the reservoir office, which was why staff were not aware they were missing when they checked to ensure all visitors had left when the reservoir was closed for the night, he said.