Anxious relatives toured the Arkansas campsite where their loved ones were swept away by a flash flood and saw for themselves the steep terrain that made escaping the rising water in darkness so difficult.

At least 16 people were killed when floodwater tore through a campsite in Arkansas, US officials said today.

FLASH FLOODS swept through campsites in an Arkansas national forest yesterday, killing at least 16 people, police said, as a massive rescue operation was launched in the rugged mountainous area.