Four children, including a 2-year-old, who went missing in blizzard conditions in western Alaska on Sunday were found alive and are being treated for severe hypothermia, officials said Monday.
They were “cold, hungry and tired” and being evaluated, an Emmonak Search and Rescue team member told NBC affiliate KTUU of Anchorage.
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Alaska State Troopers later said that all four are being treated for severe hypothermia.
The children — ages 14, 8, 7 and 2 years old — were found by ground searchers around 4:25 p.m. Monday approximately 18 miles south of Nunam Iqua, and their parents have been notified, troopers said.
A Coast Guard helicopter took the children to the hospital.
Alaska State Troopers said they received a report at 6:25 p.m. local time Sunday out of the community of Nunam Iqua that the children not returned from a snow machine ride. They had been expected back about 1 p.m.
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Helicopters from the Coast Guard and the Army National Guard, as well as search-and-rescue groups from neighboring villages, helped look for the children, but reduced visibility from blizzard conditions presented a challenge, officials said.
Nunam Iqua is a community of around 190 people in western Alaska.
