Arizona helicopter crew rescues family of 6 stranded on roof of vehicle during flood

A helicopter crew in Arizona rescued a family of two adults and four children who held onto the roof of their vehicle as floodwaters surged around them last week, authorities said.

The family’s vehicle got stuck in a flooded wash on the night of Sept. 21 near Maricopa, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) said.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office requested the help of the AZDPS Ranger 1 helicopter crew as the water levels continued to rise around the car, with the adults and kids still trapped on top.

Video from the helicopter shows the crew arriving and lowing down a trooper-paramedic to the roof of the vehicle and hand the four children, ages 8, 4, 2, and 11 months, to a crew member in the hovering helicopter. 

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The crew dropped the children off safely on dry land before returning for the two adults. 

All six family members were safely rescued, the department said.

Rescue operations involving children are especially dangerous, AZDPS Trooper Paramedic Eric Tarr told FOX10 Phoenix.

“It’s a lot different when you bring the little kids involved because if they go in the water, they have essentially zero chance of survival, very minimal,” Tarr said.