Boy Scout troop helicoptered to safety after being stranded in New Mexico forest
A Boy Scout troop that included 16 children was airlifted to safety after becoming trapped in a forest in New Mexico by flood waters, according to officials.
The New Mexico State Police said earlier this month that it had rescued 25 people who had become stranded near the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument during a week-long camping trip.
The 16 children and nine adults were hoisted into helicopters on 8 October after heavy rains surrounded their campsite with water and made the nearby river unsafe to ford.
"On October 8, at around 4pm, New Mexico State Police was dispatched to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument for a troop of boy scouts (16 kids and 9 adults) who were stranded due to heavy rains and rising rivers surrounding their campsite," the police force said.
"New Mexico Search and Rescue was called... the stranded scouts were located and helicopters from New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico National Guard hoisted all 25 to safety."
According to local radio station KCRA, two hikers were also rescued. No injuries were reported.
The overall rescue took 10 hours, in part due to adverse weather conditions and terrain that turned the downdraft from the helicopters' rotor blades into a challenging wind.
Hoist operator Kurtus Tenorio told KCRA: "It was pretty challenging getting in there. It took us probably double the time it normally would have."
Aerial footage released by police shows the Boy Scouts' campsite next to a fast-moving river, among dense trees near a towering rock formation. One video then shows two people being lifted from beside the river into a police helicopter and brought inside.
Other videos show an officers on the ground shouting over the helicopter noise, telling a group of boys how the rescue will work and later helping them don harnesses.
"I am totally surprised the river didn't take them," says one officer to another while the troop prepares to leave. "Like, they are right in-between two flows."
After the rescue, Mr Tenorio said, there were "lots of smiles, lots of hugs and high-fives – that was pretty heartwarming."
