130 students on a school trip were stranded without food in the dense forest of Katarniaghat in Uttar Pradesh after dark.

More than 100 students and school staff were left stranded for hours in the evening in the dense forests of Katarniaghat here in Uttar Pradesh while returning from a study tour, officials said on Sunday.

The children, aged 14 to 18, were forced to endure the freezing cold while sitting in the sky without food, water or proper clothing due to the freezing temperatures after school officials ignored warnings from locals to stop their journey in a safe place, they said. .

There are 155 in total, 130 of them are children.

According to the district administration, the group from Gonda district was on an educational trip organized by the New Standard Training Institute in Dhanepur.

According to local social worker Jang Hindustani, the group first tried to cross the border from Rupaidiha to Nepal but was stopped due to border regulations. After being denied entry into Nepal, officials redirected the buses to the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, known for its dense forests and dangerous wildlife, including tigers, tigers and elephants.

The buses passed through five checkpoints of the forest before arriving at the village of Amba, in the middle of the sanctuary.

Although local people and authorities were warned, the school staff insisted on continuing the trip, he said. At around 5 pm, the buses tried to go back towards Nepal again, but were stopped from continuing again.

The authorities then decided to let the children live in the open at the Bichhiya railway station, which is in the middle of a dense forest. As the temperatures dropped, children huddled together to protect themselves from the cold.

After receiving information about the trapped students, District Magistrate Monika Rani issued an order to take action. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sanjay Kumar, police and officials of the forest department, reached the place to provide food, light the fire, and ensure the safety of the children and workers, he said.

SDM Sanjay Kumar confirmed that food was arranged for everyone, and strict instructions were issued to prevent such incidents in future. The children and the workers were safely escorted back to Gonda at midnight, and their misery ended.