Jordanian rescuers searching the Dead Sea area for survivors of flash floods found the body of a 12-year-old girl on Friday, raising the death toll in the tragedy to 19.

A general view shows the location of the accident where people were killed in a flash flood near the Dead Sea, Jordan, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018. Flash floods unleashed by heavy rains swept away a group of middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs near the Dead Sea on Thursday, killing people as the torrent carried some for several kilometers, a civil defense official said. (Photos: AP)

The body was recovered a day after middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs in the area were swept away by the torrent. Civil defense officials have said the surge, caused by heavy rains, carried some for several kilometers (miles) toward the Dead Sea.

Mustafa al-Basaiah, the director general of the kingdom’s Civil Defense, said that 13 of the dead and 21 of about three dozen injured were middle school students. Several people are still feared missing, he said.

Jordanian rescuers with sniffer dogs search for survivors of flash floods at the Dead Sea area, Jordan, Friday, Oct. 26, 2018. The body of a 12-year-old girl, was recovered early Friday, a day after middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs in the area were swept away by the torrent. Civil defense officials say the surge, caused by heavy rains, carried some for several kilometers (miles) toward the Dead Sea. 

A complex rescue operation involving helicopters, divers, sniffer dogs and hundreds of searchers had continued into the night Thursday.

Searches resumed after daybreak Friday.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II canceled a planned working visit to Bahrain, initially scheduled for Friday. He was to have been the keynote speaker at a security conference.

The low-lying Dead Sea area, part of the Jordan Valley, is prone to flash flooding when rain water rushes down from adjacent hills. In April, 10 Israeli students were killed in a flash flood while on a hiking trip near the Dead Sea.

Cover image: A Dead Sea area is seen after flash floods in Jordan Friday, Oct. 26, 2018. The body of a 12-year-old girl, was recovered early Friday, a day after middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs in the area were swept away by the torrent. Civil defense officials say the surge, caused by heavy rains, carried some for several kilometers (miles) toward the Dead Sea.