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REPORT: Helicopter Needed To Rescue 99 Students In Austrian Mountains After Teacher Gets Lost On Field Trip

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A group of students and their teachers were airlifted out of the Austrian Alps on Tuesday after finding themselves on an unmarked and difficult trail leading up to Walmendingerhorn summit.

Eight teachers and 99 students — ages 12 to 14 —  were rescued late Tuesday via helicopter from the ridge by more than 60 people, including the local mayor, The Associated Press reported. The group from Ludwigshafen, Germany, was on a school trip and had followed an online map that described the trail as a “classic evening walk,” according to the AP.

After struggling with slippery conditions, one teacher decided to turn back as “not all students were wearing optimal footwear,” the AP reported.

Two students reportedly slipped and sustained minor injuries, forcing the teacher to call emergency services. (RELATED: Teens Rescued From Mountain In Oregon After Signaling Help With ‘SOS’ Message)

“Several students were exhausted, chilled, wet and completely distraught,” Vorarlberg police said in a statement Wednesday, according to the AP News.  A crisis intervention team was brought in to help, the statement reportedly added.