LEXINGTON, Ky. — Amid a flurry of tornado and severe storm damage in Western Kentucky, one powerful gust flattened a Mayfield factory that had more than 100 people in it.
The candle factory, Mayfield Consumer Products, saw its roof collapse because of the storm on Friday night. There were 110 people inside the factory at the time, and only 40 had been rescued, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.
“We’re gonna lose a lot of lives in that facility,” Beshear said. “I pray that there will be another rescue. … I think the largest loss of life in this tornado event is and will be there.”
The last successful rescue occurred at 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Beshear.
Beshear had said earlier on Saturday morning that “at least dozens” in the factory had died.
“We’re praying for each and every one of those families,” Beshear said.
Losses have also been seen across the Western part of the state. Beshear said he estimates casualties in about 10 different counties in Kentucky.
“The level of devastation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You see parts of industrial buildings’ roofs or sidings in trees, if trees are lucky enough to stand;buildings that are no longer there; huge trucks that have been picked up and thrown,” Beshear said. “And sadly, far too many homes that people were likely in entirely devastated. This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky.”
A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) search and rescue team was on its way to the factory as of late Saturday morning, according to Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett.
The Courier-Journal reported that a group of 15 coroners and deputy coroners have set up a staging area in Madisonville to deal with mass fatalities.
One worker captured the nightmarish aftermath on her phone.
In a mostly blacked-out video posted to Facebook Live, Kyanna Parsons-Perez identified herself as a worker at the factory and captured footage of coworkers trapped under the rubble of the factory building.
She explained that she couldn’t move her legs because a water fountain and part of the building’s wall had pinned them down. Other people trapped in the rubble are heard in the video crying out for help and struggling to stay calm under the wreckage.
“They told us not to move, because if we move we may cause the stuff to fall more,” Parsons-Perez said. “I can’t feel my legs.”
After being rescued, Parsons-Perez told "The Today Show" that being trapped underneath the rubble for about two hours was the most terrifying thing she’s ever experienced.
Paige Tingle told the Herald-Leader that her 52-year-old mother who works at the factory, Jill Monroe, is still missing.
Tingle said that her mother was in the facility’s bathroom when it collapsed. She said she was concerned because Monroe has heart and lung issues.
Paducah TV station WPSD has reported that those affected by the storms in Graves County can seek shelter at Mayfield High School or Fire Station 1 at 211 E. Broadway Street.
Graves County Coroner Brad Jones said at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday that he did not know the number of deceased at the candle factory and that it was still an active scene.
“We’re still trying to get them all accounted for,” Jones said. “We’re still working and we’re out here now.”
He said his office was attending to cases “all over the county,” as well.
“It’s hard on all of us right now.”
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