Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told reporters “dozens” of workers were feared dead at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, after a tornado struck the building, part of an outbreak of severe weather across the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, Friday night, the Associated Press reports.
“There were about 110 people in it at the time that the tornado hit it. We believe we’ll lose at least dozens of those individuals. It’s very hard, really tough, and we’re praying for each and every one of those families” said Beshear at a news conference early Saturday. Meanwhile, police in Edwardsville, Illinois evacuated over 100 workers from an Amazon warehouse believed to have been struck by a tornado. Cops said at least one person was airlifted by helicopter from the site, where a wall the length of a football field collapsed. One person is confirmed dead and at least 20 were trapped inside the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas when a tornado touched down nearby on Friday night. Three more people were reportedly killed by severe weather in Tennesee.