Six people are dead, including four teenage boys at a Scout camp in Iowa, after a rash of tornadoes tore through central US states.
Lloyd Roitstein, president of the Boy Scouts of Mid-America Council, said the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa's remote western hills was virtually destroyed when the twister touched down yesterday evening.
He said about 100 staff and boys aged 13 to 17 were in the middle of a week-long leadership training course when it hit, ripping tents off the ground and snapping trees at the 1,800-acre compound.
State emergency officials named the four victims as Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Iowa, Josh Fennen, 13, Sam Thomsen, 13, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all three from Omaha.
Reports suggested a further 40 people at the camp were injured.
The scouts had a weather radio with them and were ready for the storm. They had also carried out an emergency tornado drill the day before.
As the weather worsened they retreated into the camp's bunkhouse and when it was hit set up their own mini-triage unit to help the injured, Iowa Governor Chet Culver told a press conference in Blencoe, Iowa.
He said the camp was devastated and added that it is amazing that more lives were not lost.
Officials said two people died after several twisters swept through northeast Kansas, and significant damage was caused to homes, business and buildings.
The region has also been hit by heavy rains and flood warnings remain in effect across more than half a dozen central states.
