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UPDATE (SATURDAY): With the Passaic River tide the lowest its been since before Tropical Storm Ida struck, authorities resumed their search for a former prom king and queen swept away in floodwaters.
The Passaic couple, Nidhi Rana, 18, and Ayush Rana, 21, apparently were swept into a storm drain that empties into the river after getting out of their car on Main Street during Wednesday night’s torrential downpour.
Saturday's operation includes three drones in the air until about 3 p.m., Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said.
Several boats with sonar are in the water, as well, he said.
"This will be the lowest tide we've had in the past few days," the mayor said. "We're hopeful."
Lora has been in direct contact with the parents of each throughout the search, which has been drawing crowds of concerned onlookers.
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UPDATE (FRIDAY): A search intensified Friday for two young adults from Passaic who were swept away in Tropical Storm Ida’s floodwaters. The search yielded no results before high tide forced them to stop for now.
Responders fear that former Passaic High School prom king and queen Nidhi Rana and Ayush Rana were swept into a storm drain that empties into the Passaic River after getting out of their car on Main Street during Wednesday night’s torrential downpour.
With the tide low Friday morning, divers headed about 600 feet into the culvert, Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said.
Seven boats were in the river, a chopper was overhead and the National Guard was probing the river with sonar, Lora said.
Searchers from Paterson, Clifton and the New Jersey State Police assisted, he said.
Passaic already had a casualty from Ida: Luis Jalil-Solarzario, 70, who was a passenger in a car that was submerged in nearly eight feet of water near the underpass at Van Houten and Passaic avenues. Firefighters rescued his 66-year-old wife and their son, 25.
A Little Falls woman swept away by floodwaters from Ida was also still missing and believed dead. READ MORE….
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