At least 51 people, including 20 children, have been killed after a powerful tornado ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma city in the United States, local media reported citing officials on Monday.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the twister generated winds of up to 200 m/ph that flattened dozens of buildings, pulverized entire city blocks and left a trail of destruction along its path.
The worst affected was Moore, a suburb of about 55,000 people south of Oklahoma city. The tornado which struck at mid-afternoon, remained on the ground for some 45 minutes, ripping apart entire neighborhoods and severely damaging at least two schools.
According to local officials, the bodies of seven of the children killed in the disaster were found in the wreckage of the Plaza Towers Elementary School, the roof of which was torn off by the twister. They said several children were still unaccounted for.
Search and rescue operations were still on in the stricken area, with more than 200 Oklahoma National Guardsmen and dozens of emergency workers taking part in the mission. Some 120 people, including 70 children, were being treated in hospitals for injuries.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a statement issued late Monday that it was a "tragic" day for the state, and added that President Barack Obama had called her personally to offer federal assistance in dealing with the aftermath of the twister.
Monday's tornado struck just a day after another cluster of storms hit the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa. Two people have since been confirmed dead as a result of those storms in Oklahoma. Governor Fallin declared a state of emergency for 16 counties on Sunday. She added five more counties to that list after Monday's tornado.
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