AT least six people were killed and seven were still missing on Sunday following a flash flood which turned a whitewater rafting adventure in the Eastern Cape into a disaster. The tragedy occurred when a party of 24 thrillseekers in tractor tyre inner tubes were struck by a surge of water while they were negotiating the tricky Storms River canyon late on Saturday. Police said the dead are thought to be South African but that their identities had not been confirmed. Nine people scrambled to safety, but the rest were catapulted down rapid currents in the gorge, which is very steep and several hundred meters deep. The adventurers were only wearing wetsuits and not life jackets. Rescuers recovered two bodies late on Saturday and another four on Sunday, she said.