AUSTIN, Texas — Camp Mystic on Thursday halted plans to reopen this summer on the Texas river where floodwaters killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors, backing down in the face of outraged families and investigations that accused the all-girls Christian camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies.

The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners’ determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp over the July 4 weekend last year.

“We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that,” said Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died.

The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.

The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who opposed the camp’s reopening while investigations were ongoing.

“I am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,” Patrick said in a statement. “Given the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not weighed in publicly on whether the camp should reopen, noted in a statement Thursday that the result of ongoing investigations into Camp Mystic by DSHS and the Texas Rangers “will be made public as soon as possible.”

The families of the victims packed the court and legislative hearings, often wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late.

Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors and a member of the Eastland family that owns and operates the 100-year-old camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, offered a tearful public apology to the victims’ families on Tuesday.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” Eastland said, with the victims’ families sitting behind him. “I’m so sorry.”

Still, Camp Mystic seemed determined to reopen. Camp officials invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp, promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated and impressed that hundreds of families wanted to return, underscoring how special a place it was for generations of Texans.

A least 850 campers signed up to return this year. Reports that so many families were prepared to send their daughters back this summer caused divisions within the close-knit community of Mystic alumni.