RCMP say a female swimmer is missing after she was reportedly swept away in the current at Stamp River Provincial Park near Port Alberni, B.C., Sunday evening.

Police say the park is open to the public but the section of the trail near the park’s waterfall is closed to allow search crews to conduct their operations safely.

‘It was really awful’

Port Alberni resident Vera Elfstrom said she was at the falls with her husband and nine-year-old son when the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. PT Sunday.

“We were just getting kind of ready to go home and this group of young people came and sat down beside us,” Elfstrom said.

She said they were all sitting above the falls, which she described as a long series of gradual cascades about seven metres high where the water funnels into a narrow gorge.

Elfstrom said a young woman with the group swam across a deep pool of water to a rock, and was swept away while trying to make her way back.

“It was really awful,” Elfstrom said. “It was just a horrible thing to see.”

Elfstrom said everyone there immediately scrambled, she called emergency services and her husband ran down the path to see if he could help.

The search for the swimmer is ongoing with Alberni Valley Rescue Squad, Arrowsmith Search and Rescue and Port Alberni RCMP involved.

On its website, B.C. Parks warns that sections of the river include strong currents and slippery rocks, and advises visitors not to swim in the park or above the waterfalls.