An eight-year-old girl survived a devastating flash flood in a canyon in southern Italy but was found next to a body that rescuers believe may be one of her parents. The girl, named as Chiara, was semi-conscious, covered in thick mud and suffering from hypothermia when she was found in the gorge in Calabria after it was hit by a “tsunami” of muddy water following a severe storm. The seven-mile-long canyon, located in Pollino national park, has 2,300ft-high sheer rock walls which in some places are just 13ft apart. At least two groups of hikers were caught up in the disaster on Monday. While some were able to scramble to higher ground, others were engulfed by the flash flood and drowned. Ten people were killed, with some bodies washed up to three miles downstream by the force of the torrent. Eleven people were injured, five of them seriously. Four children lost either one or both of their parents. A rescue helicopter in the gorge that was hit by a flash flood Credit: Francesco Arena/Ansa “She was semi-conscious but clearly in a state of shock. We found her next to a corpse and from what we know, her parents are almost certainly among the victims,” said Pasquale Gagliardi, a doctor with the local helicopter rescue service. The little girl, who had swallowed mud and debris, was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Naples, hundreds of miles to the north. A girl is helped by a member of the National Alpine and Caving Rescue Squad as they (right) descend the gorge Credit: ANSA/AP “You’re going to make it, little one,” Dr Pasquale wrote on Facebook under a photograph of the girl’s hand, covered in mud, on the shoulder of an alpine rescue specialist. The hand of the eight year old girl on the shoulder of an alpine rescue specialist Credit: Twitter The victims included a volunteer rescue worker who helped pull people alive from a hotel in central Italy that was hit by a deadly avalanche in January 2017. Antonio De Rasis, 32, was guiding hikers through the gorge when it was hit by the 8ft-high wall of water. “With his experience, he would definitely have tried to help the group as much as possible,” said Antonio Carlomagno, the mayor of the town where Mr De Rasis came from. The flash flood also claimed the lives of two models, Miriam Mezzolla, 27, and Claudia Giampietro, 31, who were said to be inseparable and shared a passion for burlesque dancing. Rescuers work in the gorge of the Raganello stream in Civita Credit: WENN.com  An investigation has been launched into the disaster, with questions asked about why people were allowed into the gorge when bad weather was forecast. “It was a real tsunami. These are events that happen once in a lifetime,” said Giacomo Zanfei, a senior official with the mountain rescue service. Italy has experienced strange weather this summer, with torrid heat building up in the mornings and then giving way to thunder, lightning and torrential rain. Rescuers and citizens wait in the central square of Civita, a village in the Italian Calabria southern region  Credit: AFP Climate experts say the summer is becoming less dry and more “tropical”, with higher rainfall than before. “It is a shocking tragedy, linked to the terrible weather we’ve had this summer,” said Mimmo Lo Polito, a local mayor. The canyoning disaster comes just a week after the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, which killed 43 people. Raganello gorges in Pollino National Park, Calabria Credit: DEA/V. GIANNELLA  "Italy is tired of crying for the dead. Enough," said Sergio Costa, the environment minister, during a visit to the scene. "If what happened is the result of negligence, sloppiness or a lack of awareness of the risks, we are facing a serious situation that we need to get to the bottom of." “The whole country is deeply saddened by this new tragedy, which has caused many deaths and injuries in Pollino national park,” said Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s president.

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