At least 83 people were killed in the state of Kentucky, in the United States, this Saturday, December 11, after the passage of several tornadoes which also swept through several other regions of the country.
Speaking to the press, the state governor, Andy Beshear, by formalizing the first fifty deaths, did not rule out that the toll could be quickly revised upwards.
“I fear that we are probably closer to 70 to 100 dead, it’s awful,” he warned to reporters.
And for good reason: the collapse of the roof of a candle-making factory, in particular, “has claimed countless victims” in the town of Mayfield, he explained.
An “unimaginable tragedy”
While relief was at work, President Joe Biden spoke of an “unimaginable tragedy” and assured that the federal administration was working with the governors of the affected states.
Video from on the ground in #bowlinggreen #Kentucky massive #tornado moved through
pic.twitter.com/z70rP8oa6O
– Sydnee Taylor (@sydneetaylor) December 11, 2021
Before devastating Kentucky, a state bordering the Midwest and the Deep South, this tornado also claimed victims and damaged several states in the southeast and south-central United States on Friday.
Amazon employees were in particular still trapped this Saturday in a warehouse of the distribution giant ravaged the day before in Illinois, according to the authorities and media which speak of a hundred people.
In Arkansas, one person was killed, according to media reports. In Tennessee, at least two people were killed in incidents related to the storm, according to an emergency management official quoted by local media.
