At least one person has lost their life and around 15 remain missing after a sudden flood in the Grand Canyon National Park, in the state of Arizona (United States). Authorities have requested information about possible visitors to the area to complete the registry of affected individuals.
According to the park officials detailed in a statement released on social media, the body of a 46-year-old man has been located near Crystal Rapids, in the Colorado River. "There is no additional information to share at this time," they have stated, after confirming that around 15 people are still missing and that more than 60 have been evacuated from the area.
Authorities have also declared "water restrictions" in the surrounding area following the "significant flash flood" recorded late Saturday. "The floods damaged the Transcanyon pipeline, leaving the park with limited water reserves," they have explained.
In parallel, they have made a call for "citizen collaboration" to try to locate the missing persons, emphasizing that the staff of the Grand Canyon National Park "continues with evacuation and response efforts, and is working to locate individuals who may have been in the affected area."
Specifically, the agency has asked "anyone who knows hikers or backpackers who were inside the canyon, along the Bright Angel Creek corridor, on August 29, as well as those who had a reservation at a campsite in the affected area, to provide information to the Investigative Services Division (ISB) of the National Park Service."
"This includes those who may have been hiking the North Kaibab Trail from the trailhead to Phantom Ranch, staying at the Bright Angel campground or in the area known as 'The Box', north of Phantom Ranch," the Service has added, urging anyone with news of individuals who may have been traversing these areas to contact the information line of their Investigative Division.
The number of missing persons has been reduced from the 20 people that the Service claimed to be searching for in a previous message posted on social media, through which the National Park authorities are providing updates on the situation.
Likewise, the agency has indicated in another statement that up to "62 people had been evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab trail" by the morning of this Sunday (local time), and has anticipated that new evacuations are expected throughout the day, so the total number could increase, although it has not yet been officially reviewed.
In relation to the evacuees, who are receiving assistance with the support of the American Red Cross, the National Park Service has specified that, so far, "no injuries have been reported."
The events were triggered by a "flash flood" that "caused significant damage to the infrastructure throughout the Bright Angel Canyon," sweeping away "almost all the footbridges" that cross the Bright Angel creek and forcing the closure "until further notice" of the affected areas, where teams continue to search for hikers. The Black Bridge and Silver Bridge, which cross the Colorado River, have also been closed, which in turn "remains closed to river traffic until further notice due to the presence of metal structures and debris in its channel."
Additionally, the Service has warned that "thunderstorms and heavy rains are expected today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday), which could cause more flash floods, landslides, rockfalls, and changes in the conditions of the trails and the river."