In just a few hours, a rainfall equivalent to an entire summer's precipitation fell. The water poured down along the Guadalupe River in Texas during the night to last Friday. And right by the riverbank were about 200 children and leaders at the Christian summer camp Camp Mystic.
The water became too high for boat rescue, so the only possibility we had was to go in from the air, says Scott Ruskan to CNN.
He and his colleagues at the American coast guard flew through the storm to reach Camp Mystic. It took four attempts to land before they finally succeeded, the lifeguard tells.
The only way from there was by helicopter. Together with his colleagues, Scott Ruskan decided that he would stay on the ground.
We can fit a few more children if I stay in place, says Scott Ruskan who led a dozen girls at a time to military helicopters that could then take the children to safety.
More than 100 people have been confirmed dead after the disaster, most of them in Kerr County, where 84 people have been confirmed dead, of which 28 children from the Christian summer camp Camp Mystic.
