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Flash floods kill 12 people in Utah Flash floods kill 12 people in Utah
(about 3 hours later)
Flash floods in the US state of Utah have killed at least 12 people with one person still missing. Flash floods have killed at least 12 people in the US state of Utah, with one person still missing.
The dead include women and children whose vehicles were swept away by a rush of water near the town of Hildale. Sixteen people were in two vehicles swept away on Monday by a wall of water and only three of them, all children, have survived.
Three people were rescued. The floods followed heavy rains in the canyons just north of the town. Search teams trudging through mud found three more bodies on Tuesday.
Hildale once served as a home base for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, and there are concerns flood warnings may not reach members of the sect. Hildale once served as a home base for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, and there are concerns flood warnings may not have reached sect members.
Three more bodies were found on Tuesday, bringing the death toll up from nine to 12. The floods followed heavy rains in the canyons just north of the town.
One person remains missing in the floodwaters but three children believed missing did in fact survive. Later on Tuesday, it emerged that three hikers were also killed further north in Zion National Park, swept away by flash floods that coursed through a narrow canyon.
The women and children were travelling in two vehicles when the flash flood hit, Hildale assistant fire chief Kevin Barlow said. The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning earlier.
The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning earlier, leading nearby Zion National Park to close canyons as a precaution.
But members of Jeffs' sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), are discouraged from having contact with the outside world and may have not received the warnings.But members of Jeffs' sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), are discouraged from having contact with the outside world and may have not received the warnings.
The FLDS broke off from the official Mormon church when the main church denounced polygamy in the late 19th century . The FLDS broke off from the official Mormon church when the main church denounced polygamy in the late 19th Century .
In 2011, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting underage girls whom he considered brides.In 2011, Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting underage girls whom he considered brides.
He is believed to have up to 70 wives, according to ABC News, which interviewed former members of FLDS in May.He is believed to have up to 70 wives, according to ABC News, which interviewed former members of FLDS in May.
However, the community is split between loyalists who still believe Jeffs is a victim of religious persecution and defectors who are embracing government efforts to pull the town into modern society.However, the community is split between loyalists who still believe Jeffs is a victim of religious persecution and defectors who are embracing government efforts to pull the town into modern society.