Tornado hits boy scout camp in western Iowa, four dead

Blencoe: Four people were killed and 40 more injured after a tornado razed a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa.

Tornadoes also touched down in Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska on Wednesday, killing at least two people in northern Kansas and destroying much of the small town of Chapman.

In Iowa, rescue workers cut their way through downed branches and dug through debris on Wednesday night to reach the camp where the 93 boys, ages 13 to 18, and 25 staff members were attending a weeklong leadership training camp.

Thomas White, a scout supervisor, said he dug through the wreckage of a collapsed fireplace to reach victims in a building where many scouts sought shelter.

"A bunch of us got together and started undoing the rubble from the fireplace and stuff and waiting for the first responders," White told KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska. "They were under the tables and stuff and on their knees, but they had no chance."

The tornado struck at 6:35 pm local time. White said he and other camp officials saw a funnel cloud forming and tried to sound a siren attached to the camp's administrative building, but it wasn't clear if they hit the alarm.

Russ Lawrenson, of the Mondamin Fire Department, said warnings had been issued before the tornado hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, but he doubted the campers had time to seek shelter.

"The tornado came in pretty fast, ahead of the storm," he said.

Taylor Willoughby, 13, said several scouts were getting ready to watch a movie when someone screamed that there was a tornado. Everyone in the building hunkered down, he said, but windows were breaking.

At least 40 people who were injured in the storm were taken to area hospitals, said Iowa Homeland Security spokeswoman Julie Tack. Besides Burgess, victims were also taken to Alegent Health Clinic in Missouri Valley, and Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha.

Burgess spokeswoman Beth Frangedakis said 19 victims arrived at the hospital around 830 pm local time. Their ages ranged from two months to 15 years, plus three adults.

Frangedakis said four were admitted to the hospital, one was taken by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and the others were released.

She wouldn't release the nature of the victims' injuries.

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The ranch about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Omaha, includes hiking trails through narrow valleys and over steep hills, a 15-acre (6-hectare) lake and a rifle range.

Meanwhile, a line of tornadoes cut a diagonal swath across Kansas, killing two people and causing widespread damage. The Kansas State University campus was hit especially hard.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas Adjutant General's Department, said one victim was found in a yard in Chapman and the other was found outside a mobile home in the town of Soldier.

The most extensive damage from the tornado outbreak appeared to be in Chapman, a town of about 1,400.

Watson said more than 60 homes were destroyed and numerous buildings damaged. All three of the town's schools were damaged, and the high school gymnasium lost part of its roof.

"It went through the heart of the community," Brad Homman, director of administration and emergency services for Dickinson County, said of the tornado, which hit around 8:20 p.m.

Homman said three people were critically injured and taken to Geary Community Hospital in Junction City.

Electricity was out across town, and Homman said the search continued for other possible victims. "We're still going through methodically one residence at a time," he said.

A tornado also hit the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, damaging several buildings and tossing cars. The university said no injuries were reported.

In Minnesota, a twister ripped a house from its foundation, leaving a bathtub protruding from a back wall near Fulda, 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Minneapolis. A woman inside the building at the time suffered a knee injury.