Seven hikers who entered a narrow desert canyon for a day of canyoneering became trapped when a flash flood filled the chasm with water, killing at least five of them in Zion National Park in southern Utah, officials said Wednesday.
Known as a slot canyon, the passage is as narrow as a window in some spots and several hundred feet deep. Flooding can turn such canyons into deadly channels of fast-moving water and debris in minutes.
A sudden deluge of rain fueled the flood, which “went from a trickle to a wall” of water, park ranger Therese Picard said.