Las Vegas, Jul 25 (IANS): Two women hikers were found dead inside a national park in the US state of Nevada where temperatures soared to as high as 45 degrees Celsius amid a scorching heat wave.

In a statement on Monday, The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials said a group of hikers who had seen the women enter the hiking trails at the Valley of Fire State Park on the morning of July 22 became concerned when they noticed the pair was missing, Xinhua news agency reported.

When authorities arrived, they said one woman was found dead on the trail and the other woman was located in a canyon.

Nevada State Police did not provide a cause of death for the women.

Police have opened an investigation into the deaths.

The park, about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, has faced dangerous temperatures this month.

The southern part of Nevada remains under an excessive heat warning amid temperatures exceeding 43.3 degrees.

According to the National Weather Service, most of southern Nevada is under an excessive heat warning.