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Death toll rises in Grand Canyon flood as search efforts continue

Officials announced a second death and said that more than a dozen people remain unaccounted for after heavy rain.

(National Park Service via The New York Times) In a photo from the National Park Service, the remains of a footbridge along Bright Angel Creek after flash flooding destroyed the crossing in the Grand Canyon on Saturday.

(National Park Service via The New York Times) In a photo from the National Park Service, the remains of a footbridge along Bright Angel Creek after flash flooding destroyed the crossing in the Grand Canyon on Saturday.

A second person has been confirmed dead at Grand Canyon National Park after devastating flash floods over the weekend, park officials said Monday. Water from heavy rains swept through a remote area popular with hikers and campers.

More than a dozen people remained unaccounted for as search and recovery efforts continued along Bright Angel Creek, which runs from near the North Rim of the canyon down to the Colorado River, the National Park Service said.

The agency warned that the search could be slowed by a new round of rain and thunderstorms forecast to hit the area on Monday.

Officials announced late Sunday that rescuers had found the first body, a 46-year-old man, near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. The Park Service did not provide any additional information about the second victim.

The flooding buried trails beneath rockslides, washed away bridges and cut off access to a remote area on Saturday, forcing hikers to be evacuated by helicopter, according to the Park Service. At least 62 people had been evacuated by Saturday morning, and approximately 15 people were “missing or unaccounted for,” park officials said Sunday.

The flooding also damaged or destroyed about 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline, a major water supply line for the park, officials said Monday. That forced the park to close overnight lodging and impose significant water restrictions.

While the park will remain open to day use, spigots in campgrounds on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon have been shut off, and campfires are not permitted on the South Rim or the inner canyon, the park said.

Flooding wiped out nearly all the footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek, which follows along the North Kaibab Trail as it winds from the North Rim down to the Colorado River. The entire trail is closed until further notice, the Park Service said.

Park teams working with the Arizona Department of Public Safety continued to search on Monday for people who were still unaccounted for. The Park Service has asked the public to provide information about people who were hiking or camping in the flooded areas.

Among those who were missing was John Guisti, a 46-year-old chiropractor who had been chronicling the trip on his business’ Facebook page.

Guisti’s younger sister, Valerie Gibbs, described her brother in an interview on Sunday as fit and active. She said relatives had last been in touch with him at 2 p.m. Saturday, before the flooding began.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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