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Kentucky governor says at least 50 people were likely killed and warns of mass casualties at damaged candle factory, with fatalities also reported in several other states.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Saturday said authorities believe more than 50 people could have died after multiple tornadoes ripped through the state, with several fatalities also reported in neighbouring states battered by storms.
In the southwestern Kentucky community of Mayfield, a candle factory with workers inside was “essentially levelled”, according to police. Beshear described the situation at the site as “tragic”.
“There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it,” he told a news conference early on Saturday morning. Beshear said the death toll could reach as high as “70 to 100”.
“We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals. It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families.”
Beshear, who declared a state of emergency, said the strongest tornado tore 200 miles (322km) through the state, calling it the “most severe” in “Kentucky’s history”.
Elsewhere, police in Edwardsville, Illinois, confirmed fatalities at an Amazon facility where the roof was ripped off the building and a wall about the length of a football field collapsed, the Associated Press news agency reported. At least 100 emergency vehicles had descended upon the warehouse some 40km (25 miles) east of St Louis.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said: “My prayers are with the people of Edwardsville tonight.”
“Our Illinois State Police and Illinois Emergency Management Agency are both coordinating closely with local officials and I will continue to monitor the situation,” he added.
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said “the safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now. We’re assessing the situation and will share additional information when it’s available.”
It was not immediately clear how many people were hurt, but one person was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
Early on Saturday, rescue crews were still sorting through the rubble as branes and backhoes were brought in to help move debris. Police said the process would last for several hours.
Meanwhile Dean Flener, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said three storm-related deaths had been confimed in the state’s northwest. Two of the fatalities occurred in Lake county, and the third was in Obion county.
At least one person was killed and five were seriously injured when a tornado shredded the roof of a nursing home in Monette in northern Arkansas, US media reported.
Craighead county official Marvin Day told local news channels that rescuers had successfully pulled out those trapped in the building and the structure was “pretty much destroyed”.
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