17 hikers rescued in US

Seventeen hikers stranded by floods on a mountain in the US state of Arizona were rescued by search and emergency crews, officials said.

According to the Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD), search and rescue deputies, fire crews and a rescue team worked from Sunday night to early Monday to retrieve the 17 hikers, including a four-year-old boy, reports Xinhua news agency.

The police received a call for help shortly on Sunday evening.

Two hikers clinging to tree branches were airlifted on Monday by a helicopter from a rocky, narrow and flood-running creek to safety.

Nine people were killed in a flash flooding in a canyon in Arizona last week.

Monsoon rains, a regular summertime occurrence in Arizona, often leads to swift and deadly flash floods as rainwater rushes down the mountains into dry canyons and creeks.

--IANS

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