US Man Refuses To Hand Sons To Locals During Flood. They Are Swept Away

A Texas father holding his two sons while clinging to a tree was eventually swept away by flash floods last week.

On July 4, John Burgess, the father, refused to hand over the children to locals. The fast-moving floodwaters swept them away, a devastated local said on Monday.

According to witness Lorena Guillen, the owner of the RV park, Mr Burgess was seen clutching his two young sons, aged 1 and 5. "My husband was in the water trying to ask them, ‘Please throw me your baby!'" she said.

"The man was holding tight to his babies, and he just got swept away," Ms Guillen told The New York Post, adding he refused to let go of his children.

"Everything was gone, every single RV and vehicle, it was gone, they got washed away," Ms Guillen said following the swift rise in the water levels.

Flash floods in Kerr County, Texas, close to the Guadalupe River, raised the water levels about 25 to 27 feet, submerging Blue Oak RV Park and neighbouring campgrounds on July 4.

Mr Burgess, a resident of Liberty, Texas, is one of the confirmed fatalities. His two sons and wife, Julia Anderson Burgess, are still missing. While the couple's daughter, who was attending a neighbouring summer camp, is safe, KWTX reported.

Mr Burgess was camping in an RV camp with his wife and two boys. The Burgess family travelled to the Hill Country to pick up their eldest daughter from another camp spared by floods.

The death count in the devastating Texas floods has risen to at least 104, Associated Press reported.

In a Facebook post, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office said they had so far recovered 84 remains, including 56 adults and 28 children, from Kerr County.

As of Tuesday, July 8, Ms Guillen, who created a GoFundMe account to help rebuild the Blue Oak RV Park, had received $3534, approximately Rs 3,02,645.