'I can't breathe': Kentucky tornado survivors narrate terrifying experience
Many people went missing and towns were turned into barren lands after strong storms hit the states of Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. The twister has resulted in the loss of life and property including a candle factory where around 110 employees were working on the night shift.
One of the survivors working the night shift, Valeria Yanis, told USA Today that she tried to hide under the water fountain as others ran towards the bathroom to hide. She also added, "We could not see anything. Everyone was panicking. Everything fell on us. Roof, metal and rocks. We were all trapped. There were so many screams." She has suffered injuries on her head, shoulder and legs as she crawled out of the tunnel to save herself.
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Another employee, who had her tenth day at the factory, took shelter with a janitor and both of them fell into a hole under the debris. She told ABC News, "He kept saying I cannot breathe and I said I'm trying. I just want his family to know I tried my best. I said 'Just go be with God and I'll probably be following you."
Authorities and officers have shared that the death toll in Kentucky might cross 100. A resident of Mayfield, Jamel Alubahr shared that his three-year-old nephew died in the storm. Another neighbor, Angela Wheeler said, "Like everybody says, it was like a roar and it shifted the house where we were at and almost made us fall into the basement."
61 years old, Steve Wright said that he helped one of the dads pull out his three-year-old daughter from the debris. A navy veteran and maintenance worker, Clayton Cope said that he tried to warn colleagues before the storm hit. His mother said, "He just said he needed to tell someone that the tornado was coming. He has a big heart and he was a very sweet man." Clayton's mother tried to find his son, however, hours later she got the news that his son could not make it through the tornado.
McEwen was one of the youngest victims who died while taking shelter in the workplace bathroom. His ex-girlfriend told The Post, "I came here to express how much of a great friend he was to me for so many years! I learned so much from him during my school years he taught me early what loyalty was."
The governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear said, "I've got towns that are gone. My dad's home town Paxton isn't standing. It is hard to describe. When your cellphones don't work in these communities, how do you find people to truly know how many are missing. Again we are 40 hours in, and just the level of devastation does make having specific numbers difficult to have."
The twister is described as one of the deadliest events in the history of Kentucky.