New York, Aug 23 : As the heavy rains have hit areas of the US and Canada, a hunt has begun for an Indian woman missing during an emergency flash flood in Utah’s Zion National Park.On Monday, park spokesperson Jonathan Shafer said that the search for Jetal Agnihotri 29 who was lost in an erupting flood on the 19th of August, was extended.
Agnihotri was with an assemblage of hikers in the Zion National Park when they were taken away by the waves, Shafer said.
He claimed that Parks Service Rangers sped to the area and helped rescue several hikers who had been injured or trapped.
Rangers were informed of Agnihotri missing, and began searching but to no avail in the region as well as in the Virgin River.
The hunt continued Monday Shafer stated that “the Washington County Sheriff Office’s Swift Water Team investigated fast-flowing and deep areas of the Virgin River, dog handlers examined log-jams and other vegetation as well as the Zion National Park Search and Rescue Team continued its search in and around the Virgin River”.
CBS network affiliate station KUTV said that the family of Agnihotri has arrived in Utah as well as Texas and are holding out hope that she could be found.
Her brother, Pujan Agnihotri told the station that his sister was walking with group of friends in the park, but had decided to quit the group and explore a different area.
Jetal Agnihotri is a PhD student at the University of Arizona studying hydrology and atmospheric sciences, KGUN TV reported.
The heavy rains have devastated regions of the US most notably in the southern part of the country, following an extremely dry period.
Dallas recorded 23.3 millimeters of rain in the 24-hour period that ended on Monday afternoon, which submerged cars in areas of the city.The rain also caused flooding of homes and caused the delay or cancellation of hundreds of flights at local airports.
In Arizona a levee along the Gila river broke on Monday, flooding the town, leading to evacuations after heavy rains last week caused damage to roads around Tuscon and resulted in closures.
This month Las Vegas was hit by flash floods along its famous strip, which left two people dead and flooded casinos.
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