Flash flood horror: rescue workers comb storm-hit English village

18 Aug, 2004

Rescue workers combed a coastal village in north Cornwall on Tuesday, searching for any victims after a devastating flash flood sent a wall of water tearing through the picturesque tourist spot the day before.
Dozens of villagers were plucked to safety from rooftops and stranded cars in Boscastle, south-west England, by seven military rescue helicopters that rushed to the scene after flood waters hit Monday.
Three people had been reported missing as families were left separated in the chaos, but they were later accounted for. No deaths were reported.
Dave Ellis, chief superintendent of Devon and Cornwall police, said there were "no positive identifications yet of anyone missing" in the area, where some 1,000 residents and holidaymakers were said to be.
More than 50 cars swept into the sea at the height of Monday's torrential rainstorm and a half-dozen buildings collapsed, prompting rescue workers - working in five or six teams - to take no chances.
"Obviously it is still a bit chaotic down there and we are still trying to locate all the vehicles that were swept away," Ellis told Sky News television.
He confirmed that, as of dawn Tuesday, 108 people had been evacuated from the flooding, with eight treated in hospital for conditions ranging from hypothermia to broken bones.

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