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At least eight people were killed when a powerful tornado ripped through the Mississippi Delta on Friday night, leaving a trail of destruction in its path, officials said.
Seven victims were confirmed dead in Sharkey County after the town of Rolling Fork — about 60 miles north of Jackson — appeared to bear the brunt of the twister, coroner Angelia Eason confirmed to ABC News.
“What we found was devastation all around us,” Mayor Eldridge Walker said.
At least one person was killed in Silver City in neighboring Humphreys County, the local sheriff’s office told WJTV.
And in Yazoo County, two children were transported to Baptist Yazoo hospital in critical condition after becoming trapped in a home.
The deadly tornado touched down around 9 p.m. before sweeping northeast at 70 mph without weakening as it crossed into Alabama.
Walker, Rolling Rock’s mayor, said there were numerous injuries reported around the town and responders were working to get those people to hospitals, although the number of people injured remained unclear.
The Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital on the west side of Rolling Fork was damaged, WAPT reported.
