GB News Political Correspondent Katherine Forster was reduced to tears as she recalled experiencing a "mother's worst nightmare", after two of her sons, Matthew and Andrew, were reported missing in Bali.
Katherine told GB News of how she endured the "worst day of her life" before finally, after 40 hours of no sightings, the boys were found on a volcano.
Matthew and Andrew Forster were rescued by search teams after getting lost on a volcano for 30 hours, which they decided to trek using a mobile app. However, their phones soon ran out of battery and they were unable to get back down to safe ground.
Admitting it was his idea, Matthew said they realised "early on" that embarking on the trek was a "bad decision".
GB News reporter Katherine Forster emotionally recalled losing her sons in Bali
GB News
Matthew explained: "I think it was maybe two hours in. We were like, should we turn back now? And we decided to go off.
"And that was our last mistake, because then we went up the rest of the mountain, our phones died and we got lost up there."
Recalling how she found out the news that her sons were missing, Katherine told GB News she became "worried" when she noticed their phone locations were outdated by two days.
Katherine said: "I tried to ring them, Matthew didn't pick up, Andrew didn't pick up, so I thought they'll get back within a few minutes, they were amazing at keeping in touch - and they didn't.
Matthew and Andrew Forster were rescued after becoming lost on a volcano in Bali
GB News
"After about 15 minutes I thought I'll go see where they are. I tracked on Find my Phone and Matthew's last location was two days ago at the top of a volcano, and it was a bit worried then, but I thought it was a glitch."
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Revealing the last conversation she had with her sons before they flew to Bali, Katherine held back tears as she told Eamonn and Isabel: "My husband had died of a heart attack very suddenly in 2021, so I've literally just got the three of them.
"And before they'd gone away, I'd said to them please be careful. I can't take any more trauma.
"They'd mentioned a hike in passing, but I didn't know the details. And I said to them, don't go off on your own, people get lost - Jay Slater, Michael Mosley, go in a group. And Matthew's exact words to me were 'mum we're not stupid'."
Matthew and Andrew then recalled how they were rescued, as Isabel highlighted that the rescue teams were "expecting to find them dead" after looking for many hours on the volcano.
Matthew and Andrew Forster said they had been shouting for help and making SOS signals
GB News
Andrew told GB News: "We'd been shouting 'help' and 'help us' all day, we'd made an SOS as well. And we heard noises from the forest, so we go further down and we see their flashlights. And it was the search party."
Matthew added: "We'd collected rainwater, so we'd had stuff to drink. We hadn't eaten, so we were extremely exhausted. But when they found us they were like, you boys are very, very stupid."
When asked by Isabel how she is feeling now her sons are home, Katherine said she is "ecstatic" to have them home, but was "furious" with them for going on the trek.
She said: "The reason we've done this is because we want other people to learn from this. They were so lucky, and I just want hopefully other families with kids traveling to look at this and know that they made it out, but they very nearly didn't."
