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Texas Boy Scout troop airlifted to safety after becoming trapped in New Mexico national forest

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Posted at 9:07 AM, Oct 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-18 13:39:55-04

A Boy Scout troop from Texas was airlifted to safety by law enforcement officials after they became stranded in New Mexico's Gila National Forest.

The group from El Paso set out for a weeklong camping trip on Oct. 1 and were set to return a week later, the Silver City Daily Press reported.

The New Mexico State Police said in an Oct. 15 news release that the group became stranded due to heavy rains and rising rivers surrounding their campsite.

According to the Grant County Beat, the group attempted to cross the river with a human chain, but two people were swept downstream by the current.

The news outlet reported that those two people made it to shore, but no one didn't attempt to cross the river again. The group was then split in two and they both waited for help to arrive, the news outlet reported.

Police said they were dispatched on Oct. 8 at around 4 p.m. to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument to rescue the troop.

State police, along with the New Mexico National Guard, located the troop and airlifted them all to safety, police said.

Police said the troop was reunited with their families at the national monument's visitor center.

No one was injured, police said.