Several missing after deadly flash flood in Grand Canyon

The flood in Arizona forced evacuations, pushed large boulders into the Colorado River and knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents, the US National Park Service said.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the park service said. Officials from an Arizona coroner’s office are at the scene.

The flooding on Saturday in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, led to more than 60 people being airlifted from the depths of the canyon.

The park service asked anyone with details about hikers or campers still unaccounted for to get in touch. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is helping with additional evacuations.

Limited drinkable water supply thanks to the damaged pipeline means tourists will not be able to stay overnight at lodges and hotels within the park, starting on Monday. Year-round residents are being asked to conserve water.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” park officials said.

Visiting the Grand Canyon — a crown jewel of America’s national park system — can be particularly dangerous in the summer because of the risk of flash flooding that accompanies the monsoon, or rainy season.

Clear days can give way quickly to thunderstorms and downpours.

Witnesses described how torrents of water wiped out footbridges over Bright Angel Creek and altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and extending an existing river rapid or creating a new one.

Hiker Parth Desai was hiking through a narrow passage in Bright Angel Canyon with fellow physicians and a park ranger when heavy rain started falling on Saturday.

He said: “We saw the creek flood, waterfalls coming up out of nowhere, boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere.”

The flood was a major blow to an enduring effort to modernise the pipeline that serves six million visitors a year and roughly 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village.

“Heaven help us if the whole thing down there at the bottom has to be reconstructed,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Centre for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. “Where are they going to get the money?”

Halting overnight stays at the park because of a lack of water is rare, although the pipeline has frequently failed over the years.

While the Grand Canyon has large storage tanks for drinking water on the South Rim, they will not be refilled while the pipeline is out of service.

A 208 million dollar (£153 million) rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system started in 2023, with the park service calling it a crucial investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project was expected to be completed next year.

Popular tourist spots, including the Bright Angel Campground, the North Kaibab Trail and Phantom Ranch, home to a historic canteen and dormitories, remained closed on Sunday. Lodging is still available just outside the park’s South Rim entrance station in Tusayan.

The US weather service said the flooding happened on the north side of the Grand Canyon, where Bright Angel Creek comes from the North Rim down to the Colorado River, dropping around 6,000 feet.

More rain and thunderstorms are possible in the area through into Monday.