A young girl has been dramatically rescued after she was swept 12 miles down stream by raging floods in Texas which have so far claimed the lives of 24 people.
The terrified youngster was pictured clinging to the branches of a tree as the rapids swelled beneath her.
The girl, who is yet to be identified, was later taken to safety, News 4 San Antonio reports.
A separate video showed a helicopter airlifting an individual to safety after the unprecedented floods hit Texas yesterday.
Kerr County was ravaged by fast-moving waters which decimated a summer camp, leaving over 20 girls unaccounted for.
Officials have launched a massive rescue effort to locate dozens of missing individuals.
The names of those killed have not been shared, but the final death toll is expected to rise substantially as floodwaters recede.
Among those feared dead are children who were staying at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday.
Identities of the missing have begun to emerge as stricken families share photos of their loved ones in the hopes of learning information about their whereabouts.
The family of an eight-year-old girl named Renee Smajstrla has confirmed that she was among those who lost her life during the tragic floods.
Her uncle, Shawn Salta, shared on Facebook: ‘We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic.’
Heart O’ the Hills camp was also impacted by the flood path. The camp shared in an announcement on their website that their director and co-owner, Jane Ragsdale, died in the flood.
‘We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful,’ Heart O’ the Hills said.
A friend of Jane’s shared their last text exchange on social media, writing to her that she was thinking of the camp as the summertime approached.
‘Aw! Thanks. It’s definitely our time of year, what we love and live for,’ Jane replied.
Heart O’ the Hills added in their statement they weren’t in session during the floods and most of those on the site were accounted for and on high ground.
Terrified parents of those missing said they have been left in limbo as they await news from the ongoing searches, with the mother of one missing young campers, Janie Hunt, 9, saying: ‘We are just praying.’
Officials have stressed they hope to rescue many of the missing and say they’re still hopeful of finding most of those missing safe and well.
Among those named missing: are Janie Hunt, Sarah Marsh, Linnie McCown, Anna Margaret Bellows, Mary Grace Baker, Eloise Peck, Lila Bonner, Greta Toranzo, Lainey Landry, Kelly Anne Lytal, Margaret Sheedy, Virginia Hollis, Cile Stewart, Wynne Naylor, Molly Dewitt, Blakely McCrory, Hadley Hanna, Ella Cahill, Joyce Badon, Reese Manchaca, and Aidan Heartfield.
A few have been found, including: Ella Bennett, a Camp Mystic counselor, and camper Annie Flack.
The sheer scale of destruction – with buildings ripped from their foundations and cars swept away like toys – suggests that may be an overly optimistic prediction.
At a press conference late on Friday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the floods had been devastating, and declared that ‘we need God more than ever.’
‘It needs God, but it also needs a robust response… searches will continue in the darkness of night, and they will continue’ into the early hours of Saturday, Abbott said.
‘We’ll put in everything we have in the entire state.’
At least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people from various units have joined search efforts, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said at the press conference.
Over 150 people were airlifted from danger during the extensive search and rescue efforts by Texas authorities throughout Friday.
Officials said at the press conference on Friday night that a total of 237 people were rescued by authorities through the day, with many more still unaccounted for.
The massive flood shocked local officials in Kerr County, with local Judge Rob Kelly admitting that ‘no one knew this kind of flood was coming.’
President Donald Trump also broke his silence on the devastating floods in Texas, as he pledged to fully support the ongoing recovery efforts.
‘It’s terrible, the floods, it’s shocking,’ he said late Friday evening.
Trump was asked by reporters if he would provide federal aid to the area, to which he responded: ‘We’ll take care of them.’
‘It’s a terrible thing,’ he added.
Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that the Coast Guard was ‘punching through storms to evacuate Americans from central Texas.
‘We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible. This is what the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard do,’ she added.
The remarks came as footage from the ongoing searches of the Guadalupe River show a helicopter heroically saving someone from the flood damage.
The footage showed a person being hoisted from the river as one of 14 helicopters deployed during the searches lifted them to safety.
As some families were left in limbo awaiting their children at reunification centers, parent Serena Hanor Aldrich told the New York Times that she was thankful her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, were rescued during the floods, but said the camp runners should have been ready for the torrential rainfall.
‘They should have been watching the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Kerr County,’ she said.
‘They were posting stuff yesterday morning. They should have been on top of it.’
She said her daughters were safe because they were in camps that were on higher ground, but Camp Mystic runs a number of campsites along the Guadalupe River that were overwhelmed by flood waters.
‘There are still campers missing,’ Aldrich said at a reunification center, where other parents were still waiting for their children to return.
