HILDALE, Utah, Sept. 15 (UPI) — At least eight women and children died, and five other people were missing due to flash flooding that washed away vehicles Monday in the town of Hildale, Utah.
The flash flood began at about 4:40 p.m. local time after heavy rains fell on canyons north of Hildale, sending waves of water into the town and into the nearby town of Colorado City, Ariz. The youngest victim was about 4 years old.
“This hit with a vengeance we haven’t seen for some time,” Kevin Barlow, assistant fire chief in Hildale, said, NBC News reported.
At least 16 people were inside of an SUV and a van that were “hit by a large wall of water and debris,” killing at least seven. The victims were believed to have been on their way home from visiting a park.
“Everyone is family here, and it’s a tragedy however you look at it,” Barlow said.
Most water receded by Monday night as the community continued efforts to clean up and search for those missing.
Many people who live in the community are members or former members of the polygamist sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, led by Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting underage girls.
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