A homeless encampment was swept away by flash flooding in California: five presumed dead

A body has been found and four other people are presumed dead after a homeless encampment of ten people was swept more than three miles downstream by flash flooding in southern California.

At least ten people were sheltered in a park in Ontario, a city around 40 miles east of LA, when fast moving currents carried them into multiple water basins.

Firefighters recovered five people from the basins alive. A water rescue team sent divers out in dinghies to search for those missing and as of Tuesday evening had recovered one body. 

As of Wednesday morning only six people were thought to have been carried downstream but by the afternoon it was estimated that more than ten were caught in the wash.

Ontario Fire Department first responded to reports at around 9.45am on Tuesday that people were caught in the Cucamonga wash, which had swept them from a flood tunnel in John Galvin Park.

On Wednesday afternoon the fire department said that it was no longer carrying out a rescue mission for the remaining individuals but instead seeking to recover their bodies.

They said they are now using sonar technology to locate bodies and have requested a sniffer dog. 

The five people who were rescued have been taken to hospital but their condition is unknown.

The Ontario Fire Department rescued five people from the basins alive and one body was recovered on Tuesday. The fire department has said that its now looking for a remaining four

Firefighters were looking for people trapped in the rain-swollen Cucamonga wash in Ontario

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The homeless people had been staying in a flood channel in the park that offered cover, according to the fire department.

‘They’ll use these for shelters, and these waters come so fast that once they come, they’re very difficult to get out of those situations,’ Chief Ray Gayk with the Ontario Fire Department told ABC7.

‘They’re incredibly dangerous, because once people get into these, the likelihood of them getting themselves out is virtually impossible,’ said Gayk. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department dive team was looking for the missing among the debris and vegetation of the basin.

Gayk said visibility in the water was poor and hindering the search.

Deputy Chief Mike Wedell said the flood control channel is secured with gates, signage and locks.

‘We really need to stress to our public the dangers associated with these flood control channels and we need to stay out of there, at all costs,’ he told ABC7.

‘Because of the sudden changes in weather and the flow of water, incidents like this unfortunately could occur,’ he added.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department dive team was looking for the missing among the debris and vegetation of the basin

Divers were sent to the water basins more than three miles from the park to look for the three of the ten people who had not been rescued

Ten homeless people were swept from a flood tunnel in John Galvin Park in Ontario, California

The hunt continued for the others in one of the retention basins near Philadelphia Street and Baker Avenue, more than three miles away south of Ontario International airport.

Spokesman for Ontario City Dan Bell said divers were looking for the missing people.

‘They’re scouring the entire the basin trying to locate those bodies. We’re not sure they’re here, but we need to do our due diligence and find those folks,’ Bell told KTLA.

‘They were living in an area that’s not safe when you have high flood waters like this,’ he added.

Video shared by the fire department showed the fast pace of the water. It also warned people to stay away from any riverbeds or flood channels – suggesting that just three or four inches of depth is enough to be carried away.

The flooding in Ontario was part of wider flash floods that affected much of southern California.  

Back in September, heavy rain caused mudslides in San Bernardino County to the east of Ontario.

A devastating mudslide crashed down from the San Bernardino mountains and into the Oak Glen Steakhouse and saloon.

Shocking footage showed a slow-moving black river of sludge rolling past the steakhouse sign followed seconds later by a surging wave of deeper mud carrying logs.

Recent flooding in Cypress Park in LA caused cars to be carried away by water gushing through the LA River. 

California Geological Survey geologist examines the damage caused by a mudslide in Oak Glen, California. Cleanup efforts and damage assessments were underway east of Los Angeles after heavy rains unleashed mudslides in a mountain area scorched by a wildfire two years ago