New Mexico State Police rescued over two dozen kids and adults in a Boy Scout troop that was trapped in a national forest because of flash flooding earlier this month.
The call came in early Oct. 8 that a Boy Scout troop of 16 children and nine adults was trapped by rushing floodwaters in Gila National Forest, KRQE-TV reports. Water from the flooded Gila River had created a triangular island that stranded the group.
A state police helicopter was deployed to airlift the kids and adults out. The rescue took over 17 hours to accomplish.
“We had kind of a rough time getting in there, whether it was a pretty big challenge, we had to kind of overcome,” rescue hoist operator Kurtus Tenorio told KRQE “We knew that the threat of the water rising and washing these people away was a serious danger, so it was our priority just to get them out of that area as fast as possible.”
The group was flown to dry ground, and no injuries were reported.
“Kids were jumping up and down; high fives hugs for everyone," Tenorio said. "You know, they were extremely excited that we had found them, and we’re starting to pull them."
