'People were screaming and running': One dead and 15 missing after flash flood hits Grand Canyon
The body of a 46-year-old man was found near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River on Sunday evening, the park service said
One person has died and 15 remain missing after flash flooding swept through the iconic Grand Canyon.
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The National Park Service has said the flood swept through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area in Arizona on Saturday afternoon.
The deluge wiped out footbridges and hurled boulders downstream.
The body of a 46-year-old man was found near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service added.
Sixty-two people were airlifted out of the area.
Nikki Baggs, 41, who airlifted to safety out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon with her two friends.
"The whole thing was terrifying," she said.
"It was a beautiful day and then people were screaming, running," she told BBC.
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The group of friends had just dropped their bags at a cabin in Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. They then went for a walk.
As soon as the rain began, Baggs and her group walked to higher ground. They watched as floodwater swept into the Canyon.
The three of them sat at a picnic bench - until rangers yelled at them to run to higher ground.
They waited there until they were evacuated at 9:30pm local time.
"It was a really uniquely coordinated effort," she said.
"That's what made us feel safe about all of it in an unsafe situation."
The park service said it was looking for information on more than 20 people who are missing or unaccounted for - but they have since revised the number to approximately 15.
The floods have caused "extensive damage" to the national park's water infrastructure causing guest lodgings in the South Rim to stop from Monday, until further notice.
The NPS asked anyone who knew of hikers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Saturday to get in touch.
More thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are forecasted for early this week, which could lead to "additional flash flooding, debris flows, rockfall and changing trail and river conditions".
The Grand Canyon welcomes about five million visitors each year. The Bright Angel trail is its most popular hike.