National Emergency Hotline Service 999 helped police to rescue 31 tourists who went missing in Karamjal area of Sundarbans on Monday afternoon, reports BSS.

After receiving a call from the emergency hotline 999, a team of the Mongla police rescued them from the area on Tuesday afternoon.

The tourists, who were students of different educational institutions of Chitalmari upazila of Bagerhat, went to Karamjal Tourism and Wildlife Breeding Center under Chandpai Range (Mongla) of Sundarban East Forest Division on Monday morning.

"Being curious and enthusiastic, the tourists were marveled at the beauty of nature and started walking deep into the forest," the OC said, adding that they lost their way two kilometers into the deep Eastern Forest under the Chadpai Range after crossing the Karamjal tourist centre.

They were terrified and two of them fell ill. A teenager named Ferdous who was in the group made a mobile call to National Emergency Hotline 999. Getting the call, Mongla Police Station OC rescued them from the forest.

"There was no balance in my SIM but I know anyone can make a call at 999 free of cost and we did it two hours later after realizing we were lost," said Md Ferdous while talking to the media on Tuesday.

"We thank Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advisor to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for digitalization of Bangladesh and the police as well as their immediate response," he added.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan