3 dead, 4 missing, including a baby, in Pennsylvania flash flood

A sudden flash flood swamped a southeastern Pennsylvania road, 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 Makefield Township said torrential rains occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Washington Crossing area.

Tim Brewer, Upper Makefield’s fire chief, told reporters that the area got about 6 1/2 to seven inches of rain (about 18 centimeters) 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 was “approximately four to five feet of water over the road,” he said. There were about 11 cars on the road at the time, and three were swept away.

Two women and a man, ranging in age from 40 to 60s, were found dead. Four people were missing, three females and a male. They ranged in age from nine months to 63.

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.