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No one found near submerged vehicle on washed out highway

A vehicle was found submerged in a river after heavy rain washed out parts of the Taylor Highway over the weekend. Now, Alaska State Troopers are searching for the people who might have been in it.

A vehicle was found submerged in a river after heavy rain washed out parts of the Taylor Highway over the weekend.

Now, Alaska State Troopers are searching for the people who might have been in it.

The Alaska National Guard sent pararescuers to the scene Tuesday afternoon to see if there was anyone in the submerged vehicle or stranded nearby, but didn’t find anyone, guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes told the Anchorage Daily News on Tuesday.

The vehicle was discovered early Tuesday in the area of O’Brien Creek, pinned in fast-flowing water.

Water levels in the Fortymile River rose more than six metres between Sunday and Monday according to a river gauge at the Taylor Highway bridge, washing out the previous record set in 1979 and stranding approximately 30 people - most of them tourists.

The Taylor Highway, which runs 257 kilometres from the Alaska Highway east of Tok to Eagle on the Yukon River, is expected to remain closed until at least Thursday.