Rescuers in Arizona were searching Monday for 11 people who went missing after flash floods roared through Grand Canyon National Park, a police spokesman said, dpa reported.
The search took on added urgency Monday afternoon as weather forecasts predicted another round of the thunderstorms that sparked the flash floods Saturday, said Kathleen Levinson of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
Levinson said that the 11 missing people may have simply left the area without informing anyone. But they could have been swept away by flood waters that roared through the steep canyons, or have been left clinging to rock ledges above the water level.
Rescuers evacuated 170 people by helicopter Sunday and a further 85 people Monday, said Levinson. Most of the evacuees were residents and visitors of the Supai Village, a community of about 400 Havasupai Indians in the canyon.
Visitors to Havasupai Canyon must register with the tribe at the entrance and pay a fee before the 15-kilometre trip into the canyon, Blair said.
"There are a number of people who are registered," said Levinson. "There's a remote possibility they left the canyon without us knowing, but there's a strong possibility they are still there."