Divers spot five bodies in canal crash

WESTLEY, Calif., July 16 (UPI) -- A sixth body was pulled from a canal in northern California Wednesday, a day after two vehicles crashed, broke through a guardrail and sank, police said.

Family members told authorities they believe a seventh person was still missing, the Los Angeles Times reported. However, the active search for bodies had been discontinued, the newspaper said.

"The canal is so large, the bodies could be anywhere from five feet away from the vehicle, stuck on debris under the water," Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Letras said, "or 50 miles away."

Witnesses said a sports utility vehicle carrying six farmworkers was traveling on a frontage road along the eastern edge of the Delta-Mendota Canal Tuesday when it struck a septic truck on a bridge in Westley, about 18 miles southwest of Modesto, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. They reportedly were returning home after working in a peach orchard.

The water was about 17 feet deep and the canal about 60 feet across when the accident occurred, The Modesto Bee reported.

The water level was lowered to help emergency crews search.

The latest body to be found, identified as Adriana Garcia, 18, was spotted by a California Highway Patrol road officer, the Times said.

The other victims were identified as Luis Perez, 45, of Merced, and Eulalia Garcia, 34, Isaac Tapia, 16, Adan Martinez, 22, Elizar Cruz, 19, all of Lodi.