Giant tornado tears through Oklahoma

24,including nine children,killed; frantic search for survivors continues

Emergency crews and volunteers continued to work Tuesday in a frantic search for survivors of a massive tornado that ripped through parts of Oklahoma City and its suburbs,killing dozens of people and flattening whatever lay in its path,including a hospital and at least two schools.

Much of the tornado damage was in the suburb of Moore,where rescue workers struggled to make their way through streets cut off by debris and around downed power lines to those who were feared trapped under mountains of rubble. The crews,using thermal-imaging equipment and dogs,sifted through piles of red brick,steel beams,utility poles,and upended cars where houses and shops once stood.

Officials Tuesday said it was far too early to say precisely how many people had been killed,but the toll appears to be significantly less than what had been originally feared. On Monday night,Amy Elliott,the spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City medical examiner,said at least 51 people had died and 40 more bodies were on their way,but on Tuesday,Elliott said that count is no longer accurate.

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As of Tuesday morning,the medical examiner had confirmed 24 deaths,nine of them children,she said.

Hospitals in the area have treated at least 175 people,about 70 of them children.

The risk of tornadoes throughout the region remained at an elevated level Tuesday,according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Storm Prediction Centre in Norman.

A continuing focus of concern Tuesday was the Plaza Towers Elementary School,reduced to a pile of twisted metal and toppled walls. Rescue workers were able to pull several children from the rubble,and on Tuesday,as a chilly rain swept through the area,crews were still struggling to cut through fallen beams and clear debris.

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We are still definitely in search-and-rescue mode. Jayme Shelton,a Moore spokesman said Tuesday morning.

Numerous neighborhoods were completely levelled, Sgt Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department said by telephone on Monday night. Neighbourhoods just wiped clean.

He said debris and damage to roadways,along with heavy traffic,were hindering emergency responders as they raced to the affected areas.

The tornado touched down at 2:56 pm,16 minutes after the first warning went out,and travelled for 20 miles,said Keli Pirtle,a spokeswoman for the National Weather Service in Norman,Okla. It was on the ground for 40 minutes,she said. It first struck the town of Newcastle before thrashing its way to Moore,about 10 miles away.

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