SAN ANTONIO – At least five people were killed as high water swept away vehicles early Thursday along Loop 410 on the Northeast Side, according to police and fire officials.
San Antonio police and firefighters began receiving calls from people stranded on the frontage road of Loop 410 near Perrin Beitel Road around 4:15 a.m.
Water rose quickly in the area. The high water caused 15 vehicles to be swept away from the Loop 410 and Perrin Beitel access road into the creek below, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
At least five people — including two men and two women — have died.
Ten people were rescued from trees and bushes about one mile from where they entered the water, SAFD spokesperson Joe Arrington said in an email.
Two people were able to get to safety by themselves. Four people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Arrington said.
At least two people remain missing.
San Antonio police Chief William McManus said some were found dead in their cars.
KSAT reporter Sarah Acosta also filed a Thursday afternoon report at the intersection of Lookout Road and Old O’Connor Road, just a few miles away from SAPD and SAFD’s search for high water victims at Beitel Creek’s Briar Glen Trailhead.
Thursday morning’s heavy rain and flash flooding ruptured asphalt and knocked down street signs for Lookout Road and Old O’Connor Road.
McManus is asking anyone who left the Brian Glen Trailhead scene but still has a vehicle stuck in the high water to get in touch with SAPD’s traffic division.
The scene is not far from another high-water rescue near the Briar Glen Trailhead. There, crews rescued people stranded in trees.
Some of those rescued told SAFD they were parked on the Loop 410 westbound access road before their cars were swept away.
Five to eight inches of rain fell overnight on the North Side in a short period of time, resulting in devastating and deadly flooding, especially near local creeks.
A few more showers and storms are possible through early Thursday afternoon.
More than six inches of rain have fallen at the San Antonio International Airport, making Thursday the most rain at the official rain gauge since May 25, 2013.
This is a developing story. KSAT will update this as we learn more.