4 Children Dead, 1 Missing in Kentucky Horse and Buggy Accident

Four Amish children died traveling by horse and buggy in Kentucky this week when their family's carriage overturned while trying to cross a low-water bridge, police said.

A total of six people were in the horse-drawn carriage that was swept away around 5 p.m. on Wednesday in a flooded creek in Bath County, CBS News reported.

According to Kentucky station WKYT, the horse pulling the buggy lost its footing and slipped, causing the carriage to flip and sending its passengers into the water.

The four children, who were siblings, were pronounced dead by a coroner's office Wednesday, while a search for the fifth child is still underway, Kentucky State Police Trooper Scott Ferrell said, according to CBS News.

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The adult riding in the buggy was able to safely make it to the bank and call out for help after she was thrown in the water, WKYT reported.

Kentucky State Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

County local Missi Mosley told WKYT that she and her boyfriend were out on their ATV at the time and fled to the scene after hearing the call go out on the ATV scanner.

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Upon their arrival, Mosley and her boyfriend were able to pull the horse out of the water. She later recalled about 35 people offering to help near the accident.

“It was devastating,” the witness told the station. “The waters are so swift, and the rain was pouring down. It was just a somber feeling.”