SAN ANTONIO — At least eight people are dead and six are missing in San Antonio after floodwaters swept away 15 vehicles early Thursday.
Photos of the flooding show vehicles flipped and almost entirely submerged in the water.
The San Antonio Fire Department said on Friday that the death toll has risen to eight, with six people still unaccounted for.
"The primary search efforts are focused on the Salado Creek (Perrin Beitel event) and the Leon Creek near Highway 90 and Callaghan Rd areas," the department said in a statement to NBC News. "The SAFD has requested Urban Search and Rescue assistance from Texas A&M Task Force 1 and at least 40 highly trained search specialists will be assisting our efforts in these locations."
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said Thursday that bodies were recovered at various locations, including Beitel Creek. One victim was found a mile away, fire officials said.
Search dogs found a victim farther downstream, the fire department said.
The flooding began around 5 a.m. near Northeast Loop 410 and Perrin Beitel. Firefighters arrived to find people clinging to trees on an island that formed in the water, Fire Chief Valarie Frausto said.
Fire officials said that 10 people were pulled from trees and that two others rescued themselves, leaving the scene. Four were taken to local hospitals.
Angela Richards is desperate for answers about her husband’s whereabouts. She lives near the flooding and said her husband, Stevie Richards, was driving to work and called to let her know his car had stalled and was floating in the water.
“I could hear whatever the car hit and then the water taking over the car,” Richards said. “And that’s the last I heard.”
She believes her husband is still in the vehicle, which was submerged.
“The way they proceeded to search the car, yes, I can tell that someone’s on that driver’s side,” Richards said. “I know for a fact that’s my vehicle.”
Before their call got disconnected, Stevie Richards, 42, told his wife of 15 years that the car was heading into a bayou.
Angela and one of her three children went to the scene shortly afterward when they heard sirens.
“I don’t understand how this could happen,” she said.
The Texas Game Wardens and the San Antonio police homicide unit are assisting the fire department’s rescue efforts. Search dogs are also on the scene.
A homeless community is also known to live in the area.
“These are low-water crossings that the depth of the water and the speed at which it’s traveling are very, very hard to gauge,” said McManus, the police chief. “If you venture into it when the water is deep and the water’s moving real fast, you’re taking your life into your own hands.”
McManus asked anyone who left the scene and did not speak to authorities to contact the Traffic Investigation Division and confirm their safety.
A flood watch remains in effect for parts of the coastal plains through 8 p.m. Thursday, with excessive runoff and potential additional rain, according to the National Weather Service.
