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A sudden flash flood swamped a Bucks County road Saturday, sweeping several cars away and claiming at least three lives. Four other people, including a 9-month-old baby, remained missing, authorities said.
Officials in Bucks County’s Upper Makefield Township said torrential rains occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Washington Crossing area.
Fire Chief Tim Brewer told reporters that the area got about 6 1/2 to seven inches of rain in 45 minutes.
“In my 44 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “When the water came up, it came up very swiftly. We do not think that anybody drove into it, that they were actively on that road when it happened.”
There were about 11 cars on the road at the time, and three were swept away. There was about four to five feet of water over the road, he said.
Two women and a man, ranging in age from 40 to 60s, were found dead. Four people were missing, three females and a male. Among the missing was a 9-month-old baby.
Brewer declined to identify the relationships of the victims but said “one family has been severely affected.”
Eight people were rescued from the cars and two from the creek, he said.
All three vehicles swept away were later located, and no one was found inside. One was about 1.5 miles from where it entered the creek.
“We are treating this as a rescue but we are fairly certain we are in a recovery mode at this time,” Brewer said.
About 150 people were searching the creek during the night and 100 were involved Sunday morning, walking along the creek, he said.
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Associated Press writers Ron Todt in Philadelphia contributed to this story.
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