India, Sept. 1 -- Emergency helicopter teams have airlifted dozens of stranded tourists and backpackers from the depths of the Grand Canyon following a ferocious flash flood that left at least two people dead and approximately fifteen to twenty individuals unaccounted for.

According to US-based reports, the National Park Service confirmed in a statement that the destructive deluge struck the heavily visited Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch corridor during weekend monsoon storms, unleashing walls of mud, boulders, and debris into local waterways. Federal and state emergency response units launched immediate rescue operations, deploying aircraft and ground search teams to navigate treacherous terrain as water systems critical to park ...