The global tech outage stranded a New Jersey Boy Scout troop in St. Croix. It was a scramble to get them home.

A New Jersey Boy Scout troop was stuck in the U.S. Virgin Islands after their flight was delayed by the global technology outage on Friday, turning what was supposed to be an idyllic summer retreat into a nightmare scenario for dozens of people.

Two young scouts from Troop 122 in Stratford, Camden County, about 10 miles outside Philadelphia, were at risk of running out of medication, one with a serious medical condition, and they were facing potentially a delay of several days until the next flight out of St. Croix, according to scoutmaster Stacey White.

White scrambled to get those two scouts, accompanied by a medical officer, who had been traveling with the group, on a Spirit Airlines flight scheduled to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

A short time later, White got word that Spirit had booked the remaining members of the group on a chartered flight departing St. Croix at about 9:30 p.m. The direct flight was scheduled to arrive about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.

White said TSA employees in St. Croix, an island in the Caribbean, were staying late to conduct security screening and make sure the group made the flight. White planned to make several trips in a 15-passenger van to take the scouts and leaders to the airport.

“When we’re wheels up at 9:30, I will be so thankful,” White said. “I got kids dropping like flies. Get me off this God-forsaken island.”

According to White, Spirit Airlines blamed the initial delay on the cybersecurity failure that grounded thousands of flights and paralyzed operations across the globe. The airline offered each group member a $10 meal voucher. It later said in a statement that passengers could seek reimbursement for hotel stays.

“We’re pretty much out in the cold here,” White said Saturday. “Getting off an island with two, three, four people is not such a big deal. Getting off an island with 37 people? A big deal.”

When White learned that Flight 449, scheduled to depart St. Croix at 5:37 on Friday, was grounded because of the technology outage, the scoutmaster explained that the group was not equipped to survive another week on the island. Their funds were running low, and the scouts, whose ages range from 11 to 17, did not bring enough medication or supplies for more than a few extra days.

Spirit employees expressed sympathy but offered little help, he said.

“I said ‘Do you have 32 children with you?’ Because I don’t think you can relate to this,’” White said in an interview Saturday.

Spirit did not immediately return a request for comment on the situation. In a travel advisory issued Friday, the airline “apologized for any inconvenience” and waived fare differences for delayed flights through next week.

Until Spirit made accommodations, White said, he sought alternative arrangements that involved inter-island ferries, overnight sleeping arrangements, and one-way flights with other airlines — all of which came at an exorbitant cost. Troop 122 had raised enough money for what was supposed to be a weeklong scouting experience on the pristine island beaches.

» READ MORE: CrowdStrike outage affects Philadelphia airport, government and companies

Individuals and companies around the world were plagued by disruptions Friday caused by a faulty software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. The glitch, which affected computers running Microsoft’s Windows operating system, grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and affected hospitals, retailers, and other services.

CrowdStrike said the flawed software update was not a hacking incident or cyberattack. The company is one of the leading cybersecurity providers, particularly in transportation, health care, banking, and other sectors that have a lot at stake in keeping their computer systems working.

Since July 12, the group from Camden County has been camping outdoors on the shrubby hillside at Camp Howard M. Wall — a 17-acre seaside retreat run by the Boy Scouts of America, located on the island’s arid southern coast.

The scouts worked on their merit badges and practiced life-saving situations in the water, such as how to save the life of someone who is panicked while adrift at sea.

They snorkeled off the beaches of Buck Island National Park, hiked through the rainforest, spotted wild mongooses, and spent their nights cooking meals together back at Camp Howard.

Food costs alone for the week have already gone over $5,000, according to White. Camp Howard staff had welcomed the group back after the flight delay and said the troop could stay as long as needed. (A staff member baked them an apple crisp for their troubles, which White said brought a brief smile back to their defeated faces.)

But the situation was growing too dire to wait for Spirit’s next flight.

One scout was experiencing a medical condition, growing worse by the day, which included severe skin swelling and massive blisters.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he needs to get to his doctor ASAP,” White said. “He’s blowing up like a tick.”

White had made several reservations to book a few members of the group on a ferry to nearby St. Thomas. They would have then traveled to Puerto Rico to buy flights back to Philadelphia with another airline, — at an exorbitant cost. One-way tickets are topping $1,000 a seat, he said. The earliest they would return was early Tuesday morning.

“It was going to be a painful trip home. But we were going to make it,” White said.

He leaned on an aphorism that he often tells the scouts: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Staff writer Melanie Burney contributed to this article, which also contains information from the Associated Press.