Oreja's limelight moment

What a way to end up in the papers. They didn't even get the facts right~ Bottom line: They didn't get lost, and they hiked there for fun, but it was too late to return, and there was no phone reception to call back home. Glad they're safe and sound!

Read on to understand what happened. Guess which one is Oreja ;)

(Taken from the Star online)

Monday July 13, 2009

Stranded USM students rescued after 22 hours

By ANN TAN

GEORGE TOWN: Five Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) students and researchers were stranded for 22 hours in Pantai Kerachut due to heavy rain.

The three men and two women, all aged 28, had hiked up a hill and reached Pantai Kerachut at noon on Saturday. However, when they did not return home by night, their worried family members lodged a report at the Teluk Bahang police station.

The three researchers and two Master’s degree students were found by a rescue team of volunteers on Monkey Beach at 10am yesterday.

They were brought back to the jetty at 10.45am. Their family members were waiting there for them.

It is learnt that the rescue team tried to reach Monkey Beach at 11pm on Saturday by speedboat but were forced back by strong waves.

Back safe: The five USM students and researchers arriving at the jetty on a speedboat after they were rescued yesterday.

The USM group had initially planned to enter the area on Saturday morning but decided to postpone the trip due to bad weather. They contacted their family members to inform them about the delay.

One of the students, who only wished to be known as Lee, said their aim was to explore a new adventure route at Monkey Beach but the sky suddenly turned dark at 4pm.

“We were only a few steps away from our destination and could have gotten lost if we turned back so we decided to go forward instead,” he said.

Another group member, who declined to be named, said they had used branches and leaves to build a temporary “tent” to spend the night in until the rain stopped.

It is learnt that the group started their research project last month and were familiar with the route.