“The National Park Service will also continue searching the river in Zion National Park.” “Staff from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office along with dog handlers and members of the Zion National Park Search and Rescue Team will be investigating areas in or near the Virgin River including fast-flowing and deep water,” the press release said.
7 dead in zion national park flash flood update#
In an update on Monday, Zion National Park officials said that the Narrows and Riverwalk would remain closed while first responders continued to search for the missing hiker, and that camping permits for the Virgin River Narrows and top-down hiking permits were canceled. Mostafa Javadian, who had been hiking with Agnihotri, told Salt Lake City’s Fox 13 that he and another companion decided to turn back after hearing of flash flood danger, but that Agnihotri had opted to continue on. That evening, however, the park learned that Agnihotri, of Tucson, Arizona, had failed to return from her hike. In a press release, the park said it had staged “more than 20” rangers and rescuers with river rescue equipment to offer assistance, but that no hikers exiting the canyon had reported a member of their party missing by the end of the afternoon. Responding rangers found that floodwaters had swept several hikers off their feet near the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the canyon, carrying one “several hundred yards” downstream in the Virgin River and injuring them others had taken refuge on high ground, where rescuers told them to remain until the waters receded. on Friday, August 19, the park received reports that a flash flood had struck the Narrows after a summer storm dropped an inch of rain on the park. In a press release, Zion officials said that she was located near the Court of the Patriarchs.Īround 2:15 p.m. Speaking to Utah’s KUTV, her brother Pujan Agnihotri said that searchers had discovered her remains on Monday evening. Jetal Agnihotri, 29, had gone missing last Friday. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that flash flooding was "probable" later this week at the park and elsewhere in southern Utah.Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!Ī hiker who went missing during a flash flood in Zion National Park’s Narrows has been found deceased, her family said Monday. His cause of death appeared to be drowning, according to data obtained through a public records request.
The hiker's body was found on a bank of the Virgin River. The person had been on a hike when it began to rain and the river quickly swelled to more than 4,000 cubic feet of water per second, the park said. "Our deepest sympathy goes out to the friends and family of Jetal Agnihotri,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park’s superintendent, said in a statement.Īnother park visitor died under similar circumstances in the Narrows in 2014, according to the park. The effort was ended Monday after Agnihotri's body was found about 6 miles south of the Narrows, the park said.
Rangers mobilized a search effort that included 170 responders, the park said. One had been swept downstream several hundred yards and was taken to a hospital others were found stranded by high water.Īgnihotri was reported missing Friday night. Initially, no hikers were reported missing, the park said. Rangers responding to the incident found a river swollen by monsoonal rains: During the search, it was flowing at more than 1,100 cubic feet per second, the park said.īy the time the search ended, the flow had diminished to 50 cubic feet per second. The hikers had been in the Narrows, a slot canyon with 1,000-foot-tall rock walls, the park said.
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