RESCUERS were desperately searching for at least 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp, officials said Friday, after torrential rains caused a “catastrophic” flash flood that killed at least 24 people as it swept through south-central Texas.
“At this point we’re at about 24 fatalities,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told an evening press conference as rescue teams scrambled to locate stranded residents in the region northwest of San Antonio.
Some of the dead were children, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said at a previous news conference.
The county sheriff said there were “kids that are still missing”, adding that between 23 and 25 people were unaccounted for.
Lieutenant Governor Patrick previously said “about 23” girls attending a summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were missing.
They were part of a group of around 750 children at Camp Mystic, a girls summer camp along the banks of the Guadalupe River which rose 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes with heavy rainfall overnight.
“That does not mean they’ve been lost, they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication,” he said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was signing a “disaster declaration” to boost resources in counties in the region.
“It’s terrible, the floods,” US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday night. “It’s shocking.”
Asked if Texas would receive federal aid, he said: “Oh yeah, sure, we’ll take care of it. We’re working with the governor.”
A massive rescue operation was underway in the region, with around 500 personnel and 14 helicopters helping in the search for survivors.
Texas military official Major General Thomas Suelzer told reporters at least 237 people had been rescued or evacuated by emergency personnel, with 167 rescues performed using helicopters.
Freeman Martin, director of the state’s public safety department, told the evening conference: “We had a hard time getting in this morning with the weather the way it was.”
“As the day went on, it picked up and we were able to rescue more and recover more, that will continue tomorrow,” Martin said, calling the disaster a “mass casualty event.”
US media reported that trucks had arrived at Camp Mystic to transport stranded people.
State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area which includes camp grounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads “impassable.”
Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the flash flood caused by heavy overnight rain of up to 12 inches — one-third of Kerr County’s average annual rainfall.
Governor Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from the top of a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.
“Air rescue missions like this are being done around the clock. We will not stop until everyone is accounted for,” he said.
The Texas National Guard sent rescue teams and the US Coast Guard joined efforts as well.