At least nine people were killed and some were missing in the deadly Flash Flood, when a strong upstream of water flew into the Tonto National Forest from the popular Swimming Hole of Arizona, according to the Guardian, citing the sheriff office of Arizona.
Scene of the disaster
Previously, the medical fire chief Ron Sattelmaier had reported that four people were dead and dozens were missing. Later, the death toll increased to nine. He said that more than a hundred people were present in the swimming hole when the deadly storm rushed up the muddy water towards them on Saturday afternoon.
According to Sattelmaier's statement, three dead bodies were found on Saturday, and others were recovered on Sunday, but dozens are still missing. Among the dead people, there was one child. "There's no way of knowing how many people were actually there," Sattelmaier said. "It's pretty much recovered now. We don't believe there's anybody left out there."
Sattelmaier said that Arizona's desert and mountains in this region always have flash flooding during the monsoon. "The rains come so fast and so hard," he said. He also added that risk of flood becomes worse after drought and fire in the forest. Recently, the central Arizona region was hit by the wildfires so it made soil less fertile for vegetation and this caused flooding.
Who died in the flash flood?
Maria Raya with her family and relatives visited the Cold Springs swimming hole to celebrate her 26th birthday. At around 3 p.m. they were walking through water and along the canyon when, suddenly, they heard a loud noise.
According to the Washington Post, the flash flood was six-foot high and forty feet wide.
It swept away some of the members of Raya's family and their relatives. Some other relatives grasped the tree and waited for the rescue team. Authorities did not confirm the identification of the dead people, but missing people's relatives listed their names to them. According to the list, Raya's husband and 27-year-old Hector Miguel Garnica were missing.
"It's so difficult to lose an entire family," Iris Garnica, Hector Miguel's cousin, told reporters on Sunday.
Raya's sister, Maribel Raya, 24, along with her 2-year-old daughter died in the flood, and also her brother Javier, 14, died too. Raya's mother, Maribel, also died along with her grandson.
On Saturday, the rescue team saved the four members of Raya's family by the chopper, and they were hospitalized as they suffered from hypothermia. The Arizona Republic reported that they were from Phoneix.
