Rescuers in the United States are scrambling to find dozens of children who went missing from a Christian summer camp in the state of Texas during flash floods triggered by a powerful storm, as the death toll from the disaster has risen to at least 43 people.
Officials in hard-hit Kerr County said on Saturday that the toll included 15 children.
They said 850 others had been rescued from the area, which lies about 137km (85 miles) northwest of San Antonio.
The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River in just 45 minutes before daybreak on Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. While the National Weather Service (NWS) said the flash-flood emergency had largely ended for Kerr County – the epicentre of the flooding – it warned of more heavy rain to come, maintaining its flood watch until 7pm local time (00:00 GMT on Sunday).
Authorities still have not said how many people were missing beyond 27 children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County, where most of the dead were recovered.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said an unknown number of visitors had come to the area for an Independence Day celebration by the river.
“We don’t know how many people were in tents on the side, in small trailers by the side, in rented homes by the side,” he said on Fox News Live.
Governor Greg Abbott promised that authorities would be relentless and work around the clock to rescue and recover victims, adding that new areas are being searched as the water recedes.
