World News | Park: Michigan Woman Dies in Grand Canyon Flash Flood

Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), Jul 16 (AP) Grand Canyon National Park officials on Friday identified a Michigan woman as the person found dead in frigid water after a flash flood swept through a commercial rafting group's overnight camp site along the Colorado River.

Rebecca Copeland, 29, of Ann Arbor, was found Thursday near the camp washed away Wednesday evening by a torrent of water that rushed through a slot canyon, park officials said in a statement.

A commercial rafting group found Copeland and that group also found an uninjured second person who also had been reported missing, the statement said.

Five injured people, including one in critical condition, were evacuated by air from the canyon, the statement said. Their identities weren't released.

The National Park Service was investigating the incident in coordination with the Coconino County medical examiner, the statement said.

The flood hit the camp set up about 40 miles (64 kilometers) downstream from where the rafts launched at Lees Ferry near the Arizona-Utah state line, turning the normally greenish-coloured river into a muddy brown.

Forecasters had issued a flash flood watch for the area Wednesday, but it wasn't clear whether the rafting guides were aware.

The flood was part of monsoon storms that have inundated Arizona this week, including in Flagstaff where streets in some areas were left a muddy mess as water mixed with logs and debris swept through.

The entire Southwest, which has been desperate for rain after two years of dismal monsoon activity, has been hammered lately with storms. More rain is in the forecast. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)