Help us: 4 Indian-origin teens from New Jersey call 911 during Mount Lafayette hike; they will have to pay a hefty fine for ‘unprepared’ adventure
Four Indian-origin teenagers from New Jersey, Jainam Bhavsar, Purva Jayani, Tirth Shah and Advik Yadav, set out on an evening hike in New Hampshire, which proved to be costly for them. Though they were all safe and back home and did not require any medical assistance, they may have to pay a hefty fine for calling 911 to rescue them. The incident took place last Friday and they were rescued Saturday after a nine-hour operation by the emergency team.The first mistake they made was to start late. According to local reports, they did not start hiking until 3.30 pm which was less than 4.5 hours before sunset. NBC reported that they got slowed as one in the group needed frequent breaks and was getting cramps as the altitude climbed to 5,000 feet on Mount Lafayette. The other three apparently trained at the gym for the nine-mile hike. When it started getting dark and the temperatures dropped below freezing, they decided not to take further risks and called 911. They were on Franconia Ridge and it was around 8.30 pm. One of them was having difficulty breathing.But the authorities declared that they were all unprepared and for that reason, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department may impose a penalty above $1,000 on them. New Hampshire sent a search and rescue team, and it took nine hours to get back to base. A spokesperson said the group “did not have headlamps or enough food and water to complete the 7-9 hour hike. The rescuers located them at 1.15 am and the teens were finally back at 9.07 am Saturday.After the rescue, the 18-year-olds said they were glad that all of them got home safe. “They were stressed for a bit and proud that we helped a friend and had help for him,” said Shah. “These things happen very often and people don’t know what will happen up there.”
