Two children were killed when a mountainside near a dam in Northern California collapsed on Thursday, days after heavy rains battered the region, authorities said.
Around 9 a.m., the Shasta County Sheriff's Department responded to a report of rocks and debris flying off a hillside near a culvert near the Chappie Shasta Off-Highway Vehicle Area trail and campground. the sheriff's office said in a statement. Officials said the area is about 400 meters from Shasta Dam, which spans the Sacramento River just north of Redding, California.
The two children, whose names and ages were not released, fell down the hillside and became entangled in the debris, the statement said. The sheriff's office asked the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dam, to temporarily reduce water releases to assist in search efforts.
The children were found among the rubble and suffered injuries in the fall, the statement said. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Multiple agencies responded, including the sheriff's office's search and rescue team, dive team and boat safety unit. It is unclear how the children got to the bottom of the hill or if anyone else was with them. The sheriff's office could not be reached for comment.
The sheriff's office did not say whether recent rainfall was a factor in the hillside failure. But recent storms dumped more than 4 inches of rain in areas near the dam by Wednesday, bringing more than 8 inches of rain so far this month, according to the National Weather Service.
At 600 feet tall, Shasta Dam is one of the tallest dams in the United States, channeling the Sacramento River approximately 320 miles north of San Francisco. The dam captures annual snowmelt water from Mount Shasta, creating a vast reservoir that supports California's irrigation system.
