|
Search teams combed low-water crossings a day after Thursday’s
downpour that dumped more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain
in a span of hours in parts of the nation’s seventh-largest
city. Some people climbed up trees to escape rapidly rising
waters and authorities said firefighters made more than 70
rescues across San Antonio.
Many of the rescues involved pulling people from stalled cars.
At least 10 people were rescued from bushes and trees about a
mile away from where their vehicles sunk, the San Antonio Fire
Department said in a statement.
Rescue crews were still searching for missing people as the
flooding subsided, San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson Joe
Arrington said. It was unclear how many were missing Friday
evening.
“Our hearts are with the families of those we’ve lost to this
week’s flash floods and the families who continue searching for
their loved ones,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
Three of the 11 confirmed dead were between 28 to 55 years old,
according to a news release from the Bexar County Medical
Examiner's office.
The search for the missing was focused on Beitel Creek where
more than a dozen cars were found stuck or overturned, San
Antonio officials said. Search dogs were also brought in
Thursday to help find missing people, they said.
Among the missing was Stevie Richards, 42, the San Antonio
Express-News reported. His wife, Angel, said she was on the
phone with him when his car was swept away shortly before
sunrise.
“As I was talking to him, he said, ‘Oh, the car’s floating’… It
wasn’t even a whole minute later that I could hear it hitting up
against something, him screaming and cussing, and I could hear
the water take the phone. It happened really, really fast,” she
told newspaper.
Those confirmed dead includes people found beyond the creek and
throughout the county, said Monica Ramos, a spokesperson for the
Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
