More Than 50 People Feared Dead After Tornado Hits US State Of Kentucky: Governor

According to the officials one person was killed at an Arkansas nursing home and a roof collapsed at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois leaving workers trapped inside due to the tornado.

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New Delhi: At least 50 people were feared dead as a tornado hit the southeastern US state of Kentucky on Friday, reported ANI. Governor Andy Beshear said, “We know that we are likely to have more than 50 deaths, if not significantly north of that, from this event.”

The Governor added that major destruction occurred in Graves County including the town of Mayfield. “It hit Mayfield as hard as just about any town...has ever been hit,” Beshear said. 

According to the officials one person was killed at an Arkansas nursing home and a roof collapsed at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois leaving workers trapped inside due to the tornado. As per a report by news agency AFP, there were around 100 workers who were trapped inside the warehouse.

Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha in a statement to the local media 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."

Bill Bunting, Operations Chief at the Storm Prediction Centre which is a part of National Weather Service said, “At least five states were hit by unseasonably powerful storms and tornadoes on Friday night, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.”

In the city of Mayfield, the tornado caused the collapse of the roof of a candle factory resulting in “mass casualties,” the governor said.

A state of emergency was declared by the governor. "Before midnight I declared a state of emergency," he said. Search and rescue officials were deployed to rescue people as power outages had continued to hit the area, the governor added. 

One person was killed and 20 were trapped in a nursing home in Arkansas while two people were killed in Tennessee, reported AFP.