A flash flood roared through a central New Hampshire campground, sweeping a Rhode Island family's SUV downstream, killing a 7-year-old girl, and leaving her mother and 5-year-old brother clinging for life to a tree until they were rescued, authorities said.

The flood Thursday evening at the Ames Brook Campground followed a powerful storm that dumped several inches of rain on parts of the state.

Witnesses said the girl's father had left the vehicle when it was swept into the current at about 6 p.m., said Chris Harris, who led the rescue team that took the girl's mother and brother to safety.

The man screamed for help from the banks as the vehicle was pushed downstream, witnesses said.

"We heard the man screaming bloody murder," said camper Theresa Simione, 41. "He was screaming, 'Help, help. The car is in the water. My family's in the car. Call 911. Help me, help me.'"

The man's wife and son managed to escape the SUV and grab a tree, but the daughter was trapped inside, authorities said.

Harris said rescuers reached the woman and her son about 7 p.m.

"The water had her pinned against an apple tree and she was holding onto her son," Harris said. "She was yelling for help: 'I can't hold onto him much longer. You need to give me some help.'"

He said most of the woman's clothes had been torn off by the raging water. Her son was unconscious, and both were hypothermic.

Authorities found the girl's body in the crumpled SUV after the water receded.

Stewart said the boy was stable Friday at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. The family has asked officials not to release their names until they've notified relatives.

About 29 people from the campground were put up in hotels, Stewart said.

He said a man who lives near the campground reportedly cut a path through the woods with a chain saw to help people get out.

Camper Herb Flick, 69, said the noise was overwhelming.

"There was so much roar from the water rushing, it's amazing the fire department heard the screams," he said.

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