Twenty students who had been reported lost on Tay Ninh Province's Ba Den Mountain were found yesterday.

Ba Den Mountain.

According to reports, on Sunday evening, local police immediately began a search after receiving information about a group of lost tourists who could not find the right path to get down the mountain.

One of the students, who studies at universities in HCM City, said they rode motorbikes to Tay Ninh and deposited them at local residents' houses before taking off to climb Phung Mountain, an extension of Ba Den Mountain, with the aim of reaching Ba Den.

The students were hungry and exhausted when they were found.

Before the sun set, the students were finding it difficult to find the right path to return, and used mobilephones to call for help. Nearly 100 police, rescuers and residents spent the entire night looking for them.

They were finally found huddled in a cave on the mountain top slightly before noon yesterday. No one was injured.

Ba Den Mountain, 986m high, located in Tay Ninh's Hoa Thanh District, is one of the most popular religious destinations in Viet Nam's southern region. 

VNS