The disaster left one person dead and about 15 people missing or unaccounted for, according to park officials. Dramatic videos and photographs from Grand Canyon National Park are circulating on social media after a deadly flash flood swept through Bright Angel Canyon.
Authorities have not released his identity. Rescue footage released after the disaster shows helicopters searching the North Kaibab Trail corridor and sections of the Colorado River after floodwaters washed away pedestrian bridges and isolated hikers. Officials said no injuries were reported among those rescued. Officials also confirmed that floodwaters severely damaged the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies drinking water to the park.
The flooding destroyed footbridges and buried trails. A massive rescue effort, including helicopters and emergency personnel, was prompted as the trails were buried beneath rubble. Videos shared by the National Park Service and news outlets show helicopters flying over the canyon to evacuate stranded hikers. Some images show swollen waterways carrying logs, mud, and debris through the normally tranquil Bright Angel Creek. The visuals have spread widely across X and other social media platforms as rescue efforts continue. Many were flown to the Maswik Lodge food court on the South Rim, where the American Red Cross assisted evacuees. The flooding caused extensive damage throughout the inner canyon.
The National Park Service confirmed on Sunday that the body of a 46-year-old man was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River, the New York Times reported. The National Park Service said 62 people were evacuated from the inner canyon on Saturday.
“No missing individuals were located during these flights,” Baird said. The National Park Service said nearly every footbridge across Bright Angel Creek was destroyed, cutting off pedestrian access. Eyewitness Daniel Evans, who was camping near Bright Angel Campground, told The New York Times that he first heard a loud roar before seeing Bright Angel Creek transform into a torrent carrying trees and debris. He said hikers, park employees and construction workers gathered in a mule corral for several hours before helicopters arrived to evacuate them. Another visitor, David Gregory, said a bridge his group had crossed minutes earlier was washed away shortly afterward. “If we had all been on that bridge, we would have been knocked into the creek,” Gregory told The New York Times.
Officials are also asking the public for help identifying hikers and campers who were in Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area when the flooding struck on Saturday. Helicopters from the National Park Service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety searched from the mouth of Bright Angel Creek to Deer Creek Narrows on Sunday morning, according to park spokeswoman Joelle Baird.
