A desperate search is underway for survivors after a giant two-mile wide tornado roared through the suburbs of Oklahoma leaving 91 dead, including seven children who drowned in a pool of water at their school.
Plaza Towers Elementary was in the direct path of the giant twister and today rescuers were combing the debris to find 24 students who went missing after the building took a direct hit during 45 minutes of terror yesterday afternoon.
President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore.
Another elementary school, homes and a hospital were among the buildings leveled by the 200mph winds leaving residents of the town of about 50,000 people stunned at the devastation and loss of life. At least 240 people are injured - 60 of these children - though these numbers continue to rise.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin expressed her grief on behalf of her state for the parents of the missing children, aged between five and eight, as the death toll across the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore escalated.
'Our hearts are broken for the parents that are wondering about the state of their children that had been in the schools that have been hit today,' Fallin said. 'I know that there are families wondering where their loved ones are.'
She added that rescuers were 'looking under every single piece of debris' for the missing.
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Horror: Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City. The desperate search continued overnight for two dozen children feared dead after yesterday's monstrous tornado, which already took the lives of seven of their classmatesShock: Two girls stand in rubble surveying the scene of devastation following the horrific tornado Survivors: A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, and passed along to rescuers
Brave: Two boys are pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma Lucky ones: A young family comes out of underground bunker after the tornado to scenes of devastation A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School Desperate: A young girl is pulled from beneath the wall by rescuers as they desperately search for more survivors at the school Injured: Scores of young children were hurt in the monster twister that laid waste o the land. The walking wounded were helped to a nearby triage centre Medical help: A woman carries an injured child to a triage center near the Plaza Towers Elementary School Teachers carry children away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City
Heroes: Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a collapsed wall at the Plaza Tower Elementary School to free trapped students The number of children killed has not yet become clear as rescuers continue to move the rubble overnight Help: A woman carries a child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore Poignant: The devastating, two-mile-wide tornado touched down near Oklahoma City and wrecked havoc on the suburbs where lots of families lived People look through the wreckage of their neighborhood after the tornado devastated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on MondayV
