Search crews were still combing the floor of the Grand Canyon on Monday, three days after a monsoon-fueled flash flood tore through Bright Angel Canyon, killed at least two people and left more than a dozen hikers unaccounted for.

The flood hit around 2:30 p.m. Saturday after storms dumped heavy rain into the inner canyon throughout the morning and returned again that evening. The surge roared down Bright Angel Creek near Phantom Ranch, one of the most popular overnight stops for hikers descending to the Colorado River, and kept building as it moved downstream.

What the Water Destroyed

By the time it passed, the flood had wiped out nearly every footbridge crossing Bright Angel Creek and torn into the Transcanyon Waterline, a 12.5-mile pipeline that supplies drinking water to much of the South Rim — an infrastructure hit that will likely outlast the search itself. The National Park Service says the surge widened the creek bed so dramatically it carved what looks like an entirely new rapid where none existed before.

Rangers evacuated 62 people from Phantom Ranch and the North Kaibab Trail by Sunday morning. A body was recovered Sunday night; a second, identified as a 46-year-old man, was found Monday near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. One of the two confirmed dead has been identified as a Texas chiropractor. The Park Service says roughly 15 people remain potentially missing or unaccounted for and has asked the public for help identifying anyone who may have been hiking in the area over the weekend.

THE FLOOD CARVED WHAT LOOKS LIKE AN ENTIRELY NEW RAPID WHERE NONE EXISTED BEFORE

The park has since closed Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and the North Kaibab Trail, banned overnight stays at inner-canyon concessions, and restricted South Rim visitors to dry camping only, citing the damaged water line. Campfires are barred on both the South Rim and inside the canyon while officials manage the shortage. The National Weather Service has kept a flash flood watch in effect as more monsoon thunderstorms move through the region, complicating both the search and the repair timeline.

Flash flooding is a recurring hazard in the Grand Canyon's inner gorge, where narrow slot canyons and burn-scarred slopes can turn a moderate rainstorm miles away into a wall of water with little warning. Saturday's flood was among the most destructive to hit the Bright Angel corridor in recent memory, both for its death toll and for the scale of damage to infrastructure that millions of annual park visitors — and the rangers and mule teams who service Phantom Ranch — depend on. Arizona's monsoon season, which typically runs from June through September, has produced unusually intense rainfall this year, and officials have not said how long the search or the water-line repairs will take.