A SURVIVOR of a shocking boat collision in the US, which killed one woman with two other still missing, said it was complete “chaos” as she fought the current and gasped for air after two recreational boats collided.

Taylor Corbino told Good Morning America she was enjoying the Labor Day US long weekend with family and friends on the Colorado River when their boat, which held six people, collided into another boat carrying 10 passengers.

The body of Christine Lewis, 51, was found on Monday morning. Kirra Drury, Raegan Heitzig and Brian Grabowski remain missing.

Lewis, Drury, Heitzig, and Grabowski were all on the boat with 10 passengers.

Ms Corbino recalled the moment she was sitting at the back of the boat, chatting with friends, when she suddenly heard someone say, “Oh, s**t.”

“And I look up and next I see the boat, the other boat,” she said. “And next thing you know, I’m in the water.”

Ms Corbino’s father, Pat Kelly, told the US morning show he was in a nearby boat when he heard the crash.

“We were just turning into Pirate’s Cove and our buddy went by us and we were waving at him,” Mr Kelly said.

“And we see his lights going on, and then a horrific crash. The river’s all dark, it was totally dark.

“Sounded like a freight train hitting the side of a building. It was horrible.”

Ms Corbino recalled being underwater “for so long”, she “couldn’t breath any more”.

“The current was so strong it was moving me around and all I could think about was get air,” she said.

The body of Christine Lewis was discovered in a section of the river along the California-Arizona border, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said, as rescue efforts continued to find the three other missing people.

Nine people were injured, with two in critical condition, authorities said. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

None of the boaters were wearing life jackets, which aren’t required but are recommended by authorities, Mohave County Sheriff Doug Shuster said.

The crash occurred between two popular marinas and near Moabi Regional Park, as people celebrated the Labor Day long weekend in the US.

Helicopters have been deployed as part of the search, and authorities have scoured the shoreline. Divers have been sent into the river, which can run as deep as nine metres.

“These efforts will continue until all of those who are missing and unaccounted for have been located,” Sheriff Shuster told reporters.

Authorities closed off a stretch of the river where the search was taking place.