One dead and more than a dozen missing after 'terrifying' flash flood hits Grand Canyon

Updated 2 hours ago.

Key points

• The flood hit Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Saturday afternoon, wiping out footbridges and propelling boulders downstream.
• One person has died and 15 remain missing or unaccounted for after flash flooding swept through parts of the Grand Canyon, the National Park Service (NPS) has remarked.
• "The whole thing was terrifying, " remarked Nikki Baggs, 41.
• The NPS additionally cautioned that more thunderstorms and heavy rainfall were forecast for Sunday and Monday.
• The Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the US, with regarding five million residents visiting each year.

For context, the flood hit Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Saturday afternoon, wiping out footbridges and propelling boulders downstream.

For context, the body of a 46-year-old man was discovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service informed CBS News, the BBC's US partner. Sixty-two individuals have so far been airlifted out of the area.

"The whole thing was terrifying, " remarked Nikki Baggs, 41. This person was among those to be airlifted out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon with her two friends.

"It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running, " she informed the BBC.

Baggs remarked she and her friends had just dropped off their belongings at a cabin in Phantom Ranch – a remote lodge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon – when they decided to venture out to enjoy the nice day. Before they knew it, a flood of water was sweeping through the area.

As shortly as the rain hit, Baggs and her friends headed toward higher ground, where they sat at a picnic table, before rangers yelled to them to run again to a different ledge, where they waited with others for hours before they were evacuated at around 21: 30 local time.

Baggs remarked she and her two friends had been looking forward to a steak dinner at Phantom Ranch – but were now just grateful to be alive thanks to a swift response from park rangers.

"It was a really uniquely coordinated effort, " she remarked. "That's what made us feel safe about all of it in an unsafe situation."

Baggs remarked she and her friends watched from higher ground as bridges were swept away.

Meanwhile, the NPS initially remarked in a press release it was looking for information concerning more than 20 individuals who were thought to be missing or unaccounted for. It afterwards revised that number down to "approximately 15". The BBC has reached out to NPS for comment.

It documented that flooding had caused significant damage in some areas and that trails in the area have been closed.

Overnight guest lodgings in the South Rim will be halted from Monday until further notice as the floods have caused "extensive damage" to the national park's water infrastructure.

In practice, the NPS asked anyone who knew of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday to obtain in touch.

Meanwhile, the NPS additionally cautioned that more thunderstorms and heavy rainfall were forecast for Sunday and Monday. It could lead to "additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions".

Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the US, with regarding five million residents visiting each year. The Bright Angel trail is its most popular hike.

Taken together, the developments around one dead and more than a dozen missing after ' terrifying' flash flood point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.