Post date: May 21, 2013 2:27:34 PM
Deadly tornado strikes Oklahoma City suburb killing at least 24 and leveling buildings including a hospital and elementary school.
MOORE, OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES (MAY 21, 2013) (NBC) - At least 24 people, including children, were feared killed when a two-mile wide (3.2 kilometer) tornado tore through an Oklahoma City suburb, trapping victims beneath the rubble as one elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed.
Emergency crews were desperately searching the wreckage of Plaza Towers Elementary School that took a direct hit from the tornado on Monday afternoon.Another elementary school, homes and a hospital were among the buildings leveled, leaving residents of the town of about 50,000 people stunned at the devastation and loss of life.
Officials in Oklahoma City said on Tuesday that 24 bodies were recovered after the devastating tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma, a sharp decline from the 51 deaths they previously reported.
Amy Elliot, chief administrative officer at the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office said the prior figure of 51 dead may have included some double-reported casualties, blaming the chaotic situation.
She cautioned that additional bodies could yet be recovered from the rubble.
All but three of the bodies that have been recovered have been identified and are being returned to their families, Elliott said.
Briarwood Elementary School, which also stood in the storm's path, was all but destroyed. On the first floor, sections of walls had been peeled away, giving clear views into the building; while in other areas, cars hurled by the storm winds were lodged in the walls.
"I just couldn't see anything and it was just all loud and I could barely hear stuff,"Kye Smith a Briarwood student said.
His mother credited God and his teacher for saving his life.
"No doubt that God and his teacher, I mean they lifted a wall off of these kids, several kids...He's fine. He's got a little scratch on his leg," she said.
The National Weather Service assigned the twister a preliminary ranking of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning the second most powerful category of tornado with winds up to 200 mph (320 kph).