Three drown as flood flips Amish buggy

Three Amish children were swept away and drowned when a horse-drawn carriage overturned at a river crossing following heavy rain yesterday. A fourth child is still missing.

A married couple, along with seven children, were trying to cross the stream on a roadway in south-western Kentucky when the buggy overturned, knocking them into the water, Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon said. The couple and three children escaped, but four others aged under 12 were swept away.

The bodies of three children - including a six-month-old - were found early yesterday. An 11-year-old girl is still missing.

Police, firefighters and volunteers were taking part in the search last night. Some were searching along the stream and others took to the water in boats. Rescuers set up a headquarters at a church. About 250 volunteers showed up to help.

"We've been searching around the clock," Sheriff Redmon said. People were holding out hope that the girl was still alive, he added. "We're not going to give up until the end," he said.

The Amish are an anti-modernising sect who refuse to use machines such as cars.