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Two students found safe after spending night lost on Shiga mountain

29 Comments

Two school children who went missing on a mountain in Shiga Prefecture on Monday afternoon were found safe shortly before noon on Tuesday.

Officials said the two sixth graders were tired when they were brought down from the mountain, TBS reported. The children said they had eaten chocolates and onigiri.

About 250 police and firefighters had set out on Tuesday morning to search for the two. They were part of a group of 75 sixth-grade students and eight teachers from Josei Gakuin school in Osaka, who were climbing 800-meter-high Mt Akasaka on Monday. They were also accompanied by a guide.

TBS reported that when the group reached the summit, the two children were missing. Teachers said that the two -- a boy and a girl -- and two other children had apparently wandered off on a wrong path just after noon. Two of the four realized they were lost and came back, but the other two kept going, teachers were quoted as saying.

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29 Comments
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@ReformBasher- exactly. Kids will be kids is why the teachers should be at the front, middle AND bringing up the rear.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@shanabelle and CrisGerSan

l pity the teachers.

So do I. And the guide. It never occurred to the "experts" above that the guide and teachers probably DID tell the kids what to do and not to do before the hike. But kids will be kids. I know I got up to mischief constantly. Why would kids anywhere be any different? I'm sure both will be a lot wiser from this experience.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I am very very glad the children were found safe. Such thing happen and can happen without anyone being punished or to blame. I am sorry to see the rush to judgement and the wish to cause harm to well meaning teachers and or kids. they had a remarkable experience and one that may change their lives..for the better and I am so glad it all came out well you can imagine i hope how those teachers may feel and you can sympathize with every one rather than judging. Let us be grateful and happy about this wonderful news.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

l pity the teachers. These two decided to play silly buggers and got seriously lost as a result. They learned a good lesson perhaps.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What thick teachers.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

iokatta, thanks to pple who spent their time searching for these poor kids! otukaresamadeshita

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It might not have been as bad as we think for the two. If one of them had a crush on the other it would have been exciting for that person.Maybe they liked each other that's why they went off into the woods. The dialogue went something like: "Daisuke, are we going be okay? Don't worry Yumi, we'll be okay." then she rests her head on his shoulders. They'll probably get together having grown close through the ordeal.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

What a relief for all involved.

I wonder if these two were particularly good friends before this. And I wonder if they will be now. Nothing like bonding through shared trauma!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

This is great news that they were found. Great when a story ends well.

No doubt, hiking trips will be better supervised. Surprising that it took so long to find them, but there are often multiple tracks, and one mistake can mean that they were just getting further away.

Now maybe kids will know why teachers are so strict and make so many rules - well most of them who don't lose kids anyway.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

They are OK. They found them just before noon.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Hopefully the children learned about what to do if they get lost in the forest before the hike. I know when I was a kid, we were taught to stay put and wait for help, under shelter if possible. We were also told how to deal with bears in case we met one along the way. Let's hope that these 2 kids are found safely soon!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Every year there are thousands of these school trips and most of them pass off without serious incident. This seems a bit atypical. Public Elementary schools usually avoid these arduous mountain type things, and of the private schools that do go in for it, everything is always planned out and executed following all the boy scout type rules for outdoor safety in mind numbing detail. That clearly didn't happen here, so there is no way the teachers, the guide and the school can avoid heavy criticism whaterver the outcome. I hope of course that the outcome is good and the kids are found in one piece.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Horrible! I hope the kids are found alive and safe. Why were there no teachers guarding the rear? Yes, you take point, but there should also have been teachers placed in the middle and at the back of the group. Very irresponsible!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Regardless of the teachers being dumb asses for losing two kids, lets hope the missing kids at found unharmed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Agree with some above. Why wasn't at least one teacher bringing up the rear? Mind bogglingly stupid! In this season I would think the kids will be found safe and sound.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Let's hope the kids turn up safely. I've a feeling a few teachers will have their contracts torn up over this - would be a good gesture if the principal fell on his sword also and announced his immediate retirement.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Unacceptable. You don't let 12 year old kids wander off.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A GPS device for each student (for mountain climbing) provided by the prefecture would have helped.

Crazy Joe - What would have been even better is if the teachers had had a little common sense. 8 teachers is more than enough to keep track of 75 kids so obviously they were not paying attention at all. I'm not sure if they should be fired yet, but they would deserve it.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Whoever is to blame, i hope the kids are found and are not hurt.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hopefully they find the two students alive and well. Very negligent of the teachers. The teachers should of been spaced evenly between the students with one leading, one at the tail and one roving and covering entrances to side trails keeping students on the main path. Before the hike was even started, basic rules should of been covered about what a student should do if separated from main group. A sad situation.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Hopefully they will turn up a bit dirty and hungry.

800 meters sounds like a pretty serious hike for children.

Not having a go at you, but kids that age are supercharged. I've seen them climb up and down at a pace that makes adults seem to be standing still.

75 kids climbing a mountain following the same track, in formation. How did they got lost?

a) signs can be misleading, assuming they exist - sometimes trails are badly marked and b) there's often tracks going off on occasion that are not marked at all. Some are used by locals for various reasons, some are used by animals. Unless there are tracks, it's hard to distinguish which at times. "Usually" these trails are short though.

Some trails follow a creek, so it be these two did not notice it branch off and went ahead, who knows?

Teachers are ultimately responsible but there was a guide too - were the kids told to stay with the pack and disobedient? Kids do stupid things (adults too)

3 ( +3 / -0 )

A GPS device for each student (for mountain climbing) provided by the prefecture would have helped.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

At least the weather is mild. 800 meters sounds like a pretty serious hike for children.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

OMG, what a nightmare. Those poor kids. And the teachers--major boneheads. That is inexcusable.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

RIght on Yubaru. Have they no idea how to hike? 8 teachers should be roughly enough for 75 students. I would have preferred 10 or 12. There should be 2 teachers as 'whips' and a headcount every half hour. How could this have possibly happened?? Those 8 teachers ought to resign. I really hope those kids are OK.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

And typical of Japanese teachers they were probably in front of the pack and expecting that everyone was going to follow them. I've seen that happen too many times, on school trips, fire-drills, emergency evacuation drills, whatever.

The teacher leads the pack and has no one picking up the rear.

This is on the teachers. I hope that these kids get found safe and sound.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I think even teachers of 6th graders should constantly count their charges on a field trip.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

75 kids climbing a mountain following the same track, in formation. How did they got lost?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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