More than 100 students and school staff were left stranded for hours on Saturday evening in the dense Katarniaghat forests of Uttar Pradesh while returning from an educational tour, officials said.

The children, aged 14 to 18, were forced to endure the harsh winter cold and were left under the open sky without food, water, or appropriate clothing for the chilly temperatures, after school authorities ignored warnings from locals to halt their journey at a safe location, the officials added.