At a Kentucky candle factory hit by a tornado, rescuers were forced to crawl over the dead to reach the living, part of a unique cluster that killed hundreds in the Midwest and South and leveled entire towns.
More than 24 hours had passed since anyone had been found alive when churchgoers gathered Sunday morning to pray for the missing. Instead, teams discovered fragments of people’s life, including a rucksack, a pair of shoes, and a cellphone with 27 unread texts. Even still, a precise death toll remained unclear, albeit it was believed to be fewer than first thought.
Kentucky was by far the worst-affected state in a cluster of tornadoes that swept through many states at a time of year when cold weather usually keeps tornadoes at bay. Inside at least eight individuals were killed at the state’s Mayfield Consumer Products candle business, and another 12 were slain in and around bowling green, according to reports. In Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, at least 14 more individuals died.
Authorities are still trying to figure out how many people were killed, given the uncertainty over how many were able to flee the facility and the difficulty of scouring other hard-hit locations. In some areas, the twisters made door-to-door searches difficult. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared, “There are no doors.”
“Over 1,000 homes are going to be gone, just gone,” he predicted.
Only 40 of the 110 employees working in the candle factory at the time were saved, according to Beshear, who added that “it’ll be a miracle if anyone else is discovered alive in it.” However, the corporation announced on Sunday that, while eight people had been confirmed dead and eight were still missing, more than 90 others had been found.
“Many of the employees were collected in the tornado shelter, and as the storm passed, they left the plant and returned home,” said Bob Ferguson, a company spokesman. “Initially, they were difficult to reach due to the lack of power and a telephone. As we try their home addresses, we’re hoping to identify more of those eight unaccounted for.”
When the word went out to seek shelter, night-shift workers were in the middle of the holiday rush, pounding out candles.
Autumn Kirks had to toss aside wax and scent pots in order to create an improvised safe haven. She averted her gaze from her lover, Lannis Ward, who stood about 10 feet away.
Ward had vanished, and she saw sky and lightning where a wall had been.
Kirks remarked, “I remember pulling my gaze away from him for a second, and suddenly he was gone.”
Later that day, she received the devastating news that Ward had perished in the storm.
Pastor Joel Cauley described the devastation scenario as “indescribable.” “You felt like you were in the twilight zone.” Candles could be smelled, and people’s calls for assistance could be heard. Candle scents and all of the sirens were not anything I expected to encounter at the same moment.”
Kentucky was affected by four twisters in total, one of which had a course of nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers), according to police. Beshear had predicted that the state’s death toll may top 100 on Sunday morning. However, after state officials received the candle company’s update, he claimed it may be as low as 50 that afternoon.
“We’re hoping that the initial estimations of those we’ve lost were incorrect.” If that’s the case, it’ll be fantastic,” the governor predicted.
“We’ll cry together, dig out and clean up together, rebuild and move forward together.” “We’ll get through this,” Beshear stated.
Tens of thousands of people were without electricity due to forecasted afternoon high temperatures in the 40s. About 300 National Guard men went door to door, checking on residents and assisting with debris removal. Cadaver dogs were used to look for victims.
At least six people were killed in Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville was targeted; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was damaged and workers shielded inmates with their own bodies, according to the governor; and two in Missouri.
Pope Francis voiced his sorrow over the tornadoes’ “devastating impact.” The pope offered prayers for those who perished, “comfort to those who grieve their loss, and strength to all those impacted by this terrible tragedy,” in a telegram sent Monday by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Mayfield, a settlement of around 10,000 people in western Kentucky, was blanketed in debris from wrecked buildings and shredded trees. The streets were littered with twisted sheet metal, broken power lines, and smashed vehicles. Buildings that were still standing had their windows shot out and their roofs ripped off.
On Sunday, two Mayfield congregations gathered in the shadows of their crumpled church sanctuaries to pray for those who had died. Members of the First Christian Church and the First Presbyterian Church gathered in a parking area littered with rubble, broken bricks, and metal.
“Our tiny village will never be the same,” Laura McClendon said, “but we’re resilient.” “We’ll get there,” says the narrator, “but it’ll take a long time.”
