Borjhar, March 29: Police and south Guwahati forest range personnel rescued a group of IIT Guwahati students who were stranded after 'coming close' to encountering a herd of elephants at Garbhanga reserve forest in Kamrup district.

The group of 20 students, including a girl and an assistant professor, had retreated to a hillock after they saw a herd of over 50 elephants around 100 metres away on their way at Maumara inside the East Kamrup forest division around 6pm.

They had completed the trek and also had a meal inside the forest.

Sources in the forest range said they had been hiding on the hillock for several hours since alst evening and were rescued in the wee hours today.

Garbhanga, along the Assam-Meghalaya border, is a reserve forest, which covers over 11,460 hectares and is about 18km from Guwahati.

'They were about 50 to 100 metres from the herd. Apparently, the herd did not see them and hence, did not charge or attack them. They saved their lives by taking shelter on the hillock,' a source from the forest range said.

Sources in IIT Guwahati said the group had failed to contact them for several hours, as there was no cell phone network coverage.

'However, around 11pm, they somehow contacted the security officer of IIT Guwahati, who later contacted Gorchuk police,' a source said.

Labanu Konwar, the public relations officer of the institute, said: 'Our security officer contacted Gorchuk police who, along with the forest personnel, rescued the group around 3am today.'

Police sources said the group went to the Garbhanga forest by the Basistha-Garbhanga road and returned by the Garbhanga-Lokhra road.

A senior police officer said the group was stranded on the Garbhanga-Lokhra road and they rescued them around 3am.

'We found them stranded on the road around 3am. The road is hilly and not motorable. It is bumpy and has several rickety bridges,' a senior police officer said.

Construction of the 21km Garbhanga-Lokhra road (mentioned as Lokhra-Pahamjal road in the development scheme) under the reserve forest is yet to be initiated.

The estimated cost of the road is Rs 22.22 crore, which was sanctioned on March 30 in 2013 under the chief minister's special package.

Forest department sources said the road is yet to get environmental clearance from the ministry of environment and forests.