Roof collapses, killing one and injuring 28 at rock gig
At least 11 people have been killed after deadly tornadoes tore through the US yesterday.
Dozens more were injured as the destruction in the midwest and south shredded homes and shopping centres and led to the collapse of a theatre roof.
The theatre collapse happened during a heavy metal concert in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one and injuring 28.
Belvidere police chief Shane Woody said the scene was “chaos, absolute chaos”.
At least four people were killed in Wynne, Arkansas, with more deaths reported 100 miles away in Little Rock.
Three people were also reported dead in Sullivan County, Indiana.
Belvidere Police Department said the collapse occurred as a heavy storm rolled through the area.
Gabrielle Lewellyn saw part of the ceiling cave in. She said: “I was there within a minute before it came down.
“The winds, when I was walking up to the building, it went like from zero to a thousand within five seconds.”
She added: “They dragged someone out from the rubble and I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him) ‘ It’s going to be OK’. I didn’t really know much else what to do.”
There were more
HELP A rescue team in Little Rock
confirmed twisters in Iowa and windwhipped grass fires blazed in Oklahoma, as the storm system threatened an area of the country home to 85 million people.
The destructive weather came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of a deadly tornado that hit Mississippi a week ago, and promised the government would help the area recover.
He said: “We’re not just here for today. We’re going to get it done for you.”
The Little Rock tornado tore through neighbourhoods in the west of the city and shredded a shopping mall. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock, where damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders activated 100 members of the Arkansas National Guard to help respond to the damage. More than 40 t o rnadoes were reported across six states.