PARIS (Reuters) - A 70-year-old German national was missing on Thursday following a flash flood that swept through a summer camp in southern France, local authorities said.

Heavy rains have poured down on the French department of Gard, about 150 km (90 miles) northwest of the city of Marseilles, bursting riverbanks and forcing the evacuation of children from the vacation camp of Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas.

About 120 gendarmes, 300 firemen and four helicopters were deployed in the area and emergency services rescued a total of 119 children, local authorities said in a statement.