Fatal Flash Flooding

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HILDALE, Utah — The latest on flash floods that swept away vehicles, killing eight people and leaving five others missing.

9:30 a.m.

Officials say the bodies of two people killed in flash flooding in southern Utah were recovered in Arizona about two and a half miles downstream, while the bodies of six others were recovered in Utah.

Debris and water cover the ground after a flash flood Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, in Hildale, Utah.  (Mark Lamont via AP)
Debris and water cover the ground after a flash flood Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, in Hildale, Utah. (Mark Lamont via AP)

The Washington County Emergency Services Department said Tuesday morning rescue crews were still searching for five others who were missing after a wall of water swept away two vehicles carrying women and children Monday evening.

One survivor of the flooding in the Utah-Arizona border community remained hospitalized overnight. Two other people survived. Officials did not release further details Tuesday about the victims or survivors.

Crews worked Tuesday morning to clear thousands of tons of mud and debris from the sister towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the towns through noon Tuesday.

9 a.m.

Chris and Lydia Wyler of Hildale, Utah, say heavy rainfall usually draws out spectators in the community that served as a home base for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, but they’ve never seen anything like the flash flooding that swept away two vehicles, killing at least eight people and leaving five others missing.

The couple said Tuesday that residents love to splash in the water and watch as it surges through creeks.

Lydia Wyler was out with her 7-year-old daughter Monday afternoon when their SUV was hemmed in by the floodwaters. She filmed women in braids and long skirts being pulled from a car in the path of a torrent of water.

Wyler said she had no idea the flooding would be so dangerous.

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