At least 91 people were killed, 20 of them children,as a massive tornado ripped through parts of Oklahoma City and its suburbs in the US, flattening homes and businesses and severely damaging a hospital and two elementary schools.
Emergency crews and volunteers worked through the early morning hours on May 21 in a frantic search for survivors of the tornado which appeared to have wrought the most damage appeared in the suburb of Moore.
The New York Times cited Amy Elliott, spokesperson for the Oklahoma City medical examiner, as saying that at least 91 people had died. Officials said the toll was likely to climb. Hospitals reported at least 145 people injured, 70 of them children.
The risk of tornadoes throughout the region remained high, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Centre in Norman.
Firefighters, police, National Guard members and volunteers worked by flashlight overnight and into Tuesday morning, crawling across piles of debris in a determined search for survivors and victims, CNN reported.
Air National Guard members brought in thermal imaging equipment to aid in the search. Over 100 people had been pulled from the rubble alive since Monday afternoon, the state Highway Patrol said.
Authorities asked news crews to move their satellite trucks from the scene because the idling engines were making it difficult for rescuers to listen to the faint sounds of survivors beneath the rubble.
More than 40,000 customers remained without power, according to an Oklahoma City utility spokesman.
The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of Oklahoma City metropolitan area, CNN affiliate KFOR reported.-AP
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