Police rescue six teenagers from Sundarbans after a night in the woods

The police have rescued six teenagers who lost their way after venturing out into the Sundarbans.

Sharankhola OC SK Abdullah Al Sayeed said upon receiving a call on 999 emergency helpline, the police began looking for them and found them in the Dhansagar Forest Station area located around eastern Sundarbans at dawn on Thursday.

Among the rescued were ‘Joy’, 16, ‘Saimoon’, 16, ‘Jubair’, 17, Mainul Islam, 16, ‘Rahim’, 17, and ‘Imran’, 19.

A media release from the Police Headquarters gave the details of how the teenagers went missing after losing their way in the woods.

It said around the forest guards’ office in Dhansagar area, a bridge over a canal leads into the Sundarbans.

The boys quietly crossed the bridge without the foresters taking notice and walked into the forest in the morning. They were deeply immersed in their conversations and did not realise it was afternoon already. As they rushed to return home, they found that they had lost their way back. One of them then called the emergency helpline and the police began their search.

Joy later said that although the Sundarbans was right beside their home, they had never ventured in. On Wednesday morning, the six of them wanted to take a walk inside the forest but did not let their parents know about it.

“We had no idea when we lost our way. We were surrounded by trees and could not find our way back. The day rolled into evening, but we still could not find our way. I had a mobile phone with me but it had insufficient balance,” he said.

“In the evening I suddenly remembered that calling 999 required no balance. Immediately I dialled the number and asked for help.”

“The night grew darker. The Sundarbans is home to many wild animals including tigers. To save ourselves from the attack of such creatures, we climbed up trees.

“We spent the whole night awake. After hearing the sound of announcements in the distance at dawn, we got down from the trees and walked towards it.”

OC Abdullah said locating someone in such a big forest was no easy task.

“On the other hand, the teenagers could not tell exactly where they got lost. Worse, both the mobile phones they had run out of charge. It was the only way the police could communicate with them.

“The police advised the boys to climb up trees rather than walking around as the Chandpai range around the area is roaming grounds of tigers.”

“It began to rain soon after the search began and the police along with the locals began searching for them. We used mikes to tell the boys to come closer. Luckily, they heard it and came to us.”

They were handed over to their parents in the afternoon.