At least 20 dead, many missing in Arkansas flood

Flash floods swept through a campground in western Arkansas overnight, killing at least 20 people as they slept and leaving an estimated 36 missing, state officials said on Friday. A wall of water, triggered by heavy rains that swelled the Little Missouri River to 20 feet (6 meters), caught victims asleep in their tents at the Albert Pike campground in the Ouachita Mountains west of Little Rock, authorities said.

The death toll hit 20, according to a spokesman for Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, who traveled to the scene of the flooding. Children were among the dead. (Reuters)