Forty-two students from a school in Walsall, UK were left stranded in the US after a hotel was alleged to have accidentally shredded their passports. According to a BBC report, students from Barr Beacon School were on a ski trip to New Hampshire when they were informed their passports were destroyed by hotel management.
The students were scheduled to fly back home on Saturday, but they had to stay for four more days to get their emergency documents.
A mother said she was shocked by the strange turn of events, but the school assured her that they will manage the crisis. "It was a horrific shock really," the mother, who did not wish to be named, told BBC. "It's the first time she has been away from family for this long. And what they were doing was really challenging - skiing black runs or blue runs, depending on their experience."
The mother informed me that the teacher leading the trip communicated well and supported the students. "She was up throughout the night answering our emails and questions when she should have been sleeping," she said.
School head Katie Hibbs told the outlet that she was proud of the staff on the trip for managing the challenging situation.
She said, "Forty-one of the passports were destroyed whilst the group were staying at the hotel in New Hampshire."
The British Embassy had completed the applications and the students will return on Wednesday.
