2 dead, 5 missing in Zion National Park after flash flood

Heavy rain sent flash floods coursing through a narrow slot canyon in southern Utah’s Zion National Park, killing four people and leaving three others missing, officials said Tuesday night.

At that moment, “a huge flow of debris and water” came from the canyon behind them, the mayor said.

The Keyhole Canyon watershed is small and principally slickrock, so a flood front with abruptly rising water levels would arrive quickly, according to the release.

Rangers received a report of the group canyoneering in the canyon shortly before the flooding began.

The search for the remaining canyoneers has been hampered by continuing flash-flooding concerns, the park said. She didn’t have further details on their identities.

The twisted wreckage of one of two vans that were washed away in a flash flood with women and children inside rest on the bank of Short Creek on September 15, 2015, in Hildale, Utah.

The torrent was so fast, “it was taking concrete pillars and just throwing them down, just moving them like plastic”, said Lorin Holm, who called the storm the heaviest in the 58 years he’s lived in the community. She said park officials have no way of knowing if the three people missing were trapped in the canyon or had been carried downstream.

A permit is required to travel through Keyhole Canyon, and individuals must complete several short rappels and swim through several pools of water to make it through.

Park spokeswoman Holly Baker says the bodies were found Tuesday.

Sgt. Brock Bentley of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Utah confirmed Tuesday that three additional bodies have been found. One person remains missing in the floodwaters, while three children survived. Almost two-thirds of an inch of rain fell inside the national park within an hour.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the east side of Zion National Park, where the canyon is located. “Our search and rescue has not entered the canyon because of the rain, they are continuing to search areas around the canyon”.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he’s heartbroken to hear about flash flooding that killed eight people and left five others missing in towns on the Utah-Arizona border.

“Today’s tragedy also serves as a reminder to residents and those visiting our state to take appropriate precautions and be aware of the factors that contribute to risky flash floods”, Herbert said.