One hiker found dead and at least 14 others missing as desperate search continues after

One hiker has been found dead and at least 14 others are missing after flash floods tore through the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Parts of the scenic canyon were hit by significant flash flooding on Saturday around 2.30pm, sweeping hikers and backpackers off the trails near the Colorado River.

By Sunday evening, authorities said they were searching for 15 unaccounted people, after initially claiming that 20 hikers were missing. That had been a working estimate, park officials explained.

But hours later, the National Park Service announced that the body of a 46-year-old man had been recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River.

The victim’s identity has not yet been released, while the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office investigates.

The other missing hikers are believed to have been trekking on routes near the Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area of the national park.

Authorities are asking for the public to help identify people who were traveling near the North Kaibab Trail from the North Kaibab Trailhead to Phantom Ranch.

This includes anyone that was staying at Bright Angel Campground, or traveling or staying in the area known as ‘the Box’ north of Phantom Ranch. 

It is unclear who the 14 missing people are, or where they are from.

But 62 others were evacuated from the park yesterday amid the flooding. 

All footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were also destroyed in the freak weather event, meaning that pedestrians cannot get across the flooded creek.

The National Park Service said in a statement: ‘Grand Canyon National Park staff, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, are continuing evacuation and response efforts and working to account for individuals who may have been in the affected area.’ 

The flooding also knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents at the national park.

Starting Monday, tourists won´t be able to stay overnight at lodges and hotels within Grand Canyon National Park. The park is also asking residents who live there year-round to conserve water.

‘These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,’ the park said in a statement.

About half an inch to an inch of rain fell within just half an hour in the rocky area where there’s a steep drop in elevation, said National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Johndrow in Flagstaff.

‘Most of it ran off instantly,’ Johndrow said.

Horrific videos from the scene in the Grand Canyon showed mudslides tearing through the landscape, as hikers filmed from a suspended bridge above. 

Large mounds of debris were also seen floating on the brown water.

Grand Canyon historian Tom Martin wrote on Facebook that the debris flow out of Bright Angel Creek – including sediment, trees, bridges and structures – had formed a dam that raised the effective height of the Colorado River by about eight feet.

Erica Viola said she was at Bright Angel Campground when the rain started Saturday afternoon, and she and about 50 other hikers watched the creek rise and debris start to flow by, including what looked like a bunkhouse. The group was taken by helicopter to safety, ending her adventure two days early, she said.

Hiker David J Gregory shared video footage from an Arizona State Trooper helicopter that rescued his group in coordination with the National Parks Service.

He told on Facebook how his hiking group had been brought to a local high school and were set up with a hotel at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. 

Two helicopters from the Park Service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety also searched the North Kaibab Trail Corridor as well as the Colorado River from the mouth of Bright Angel Creek to Deer Creek Narrows on Sunday morning, but none of the missing hikers were found, The New York Times reports. 

As the search efforts now continue, the Black and Silver bridges, as well as traffic to the Colorado River in the area, remain closed due to debris in the water, authorities said. 

‘There is currently no estimated reopening date for these areas and other inner canyon closures may be necessary,’ a press release said.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes called the flooding ‘devastating’ in a statement.

‘I send my deepest thanks to the first responders doing everything they can to find those still missing and the good work they did to evacuate others in the affected area,’ he said.

Fontes then went on to note that a historic lodge near the bottom of the Canyon was damaged in the flood and there was ‘untold environmental upheaval.

‘The loss of memories at these sights serve as a stark reminder of what can be lost at any moment,’ he said. 

‘I send my prayers to the community as the search for those unaccounted for continues.’ 

Congressman Andy Biggs also called it a ‘scary and dangerous scene at the Grand Canyon this weekend, with the monsoon storms wreaking havoc on the trails.

‘We are grateful for the officials who sprang into action to rescue these visitors.’

Coconino County District Supervisor Lena Fowler further said she is ‘so thankful to Governor Katie Hobbs for deploying the Arizona National Guard and to all the brave rescuers who worked to get the hikers and community members to safety.

‘Please take flash-flood warnings seriously: avoid canyons, washes, river beds and low-lying areas during storms even if the sky overhead is clear,’ she continued, noting: ‘Flash floods can arrive suddenly from rain miles away.

‘Check weather alerts before heading out, follow evacuation orders and never walk or drive through moving water,’ Fowler advised. 

‘If conditions worsen, move immediately to higher ground and stay until officials say it is safe.’

Her warning came as additional storms are forecasted.

A flood watch remains in effect for parts of northern Arizona, amid a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Sunday and a 60 percent chance on Monday.

The flash flooding this week came one year after the Dragon Bravo Fire burned a significant portion of the upper Bright Angel Creek watershed.

In the aftermath, the National Parks Service acknowledged there was a heightened flood risk, and installed steam gauges and other sensors upstream of Phantom Ranch to provide better warning of flash flood events.

‘We’re very worried about the risks to infrastructure at Phantom Ranch,’ Erica Byerly, who works for the US Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center in Flagstaff told the Arizona Daily Sun at the time. 

Phantom Ranch is a popular lodge among visitors and hikers. It is located near the Grand Canyon by Bright Angel Creek.