Tornado at candle factory in Kentucky leaves many looking for loved ones

Few buildings in the city of about 10,000 remained standing, and it completely flattened the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory, where more than 100 people were working overtime as production ramped up due to the upcoming holidays.

Parsons-Perez said something hit her head, and when the chaos stopped, she said her feet rested under the water fountain.

She began hearing moans and prayers from her coworkers, she said, and she tried to keep them calm by telling jokes and calling 9-1-1.

But as the minutes went on, and as she felt pain in her toes, she also became concerned, she said. At some point, it began broadcasting on Facebook Live.

“I don’t know who’s watching,” she said, and her panicked coworkers could be heard in the background. “You please send us some help. We are stuck. The wall is stuck on me. No one can meet us. You all. Pray for us. Try and ask someone to help us.”

Seems like a miracle, Parson-Perez was rescued from under 5 feet of rubble and had to climb that pile to get out.

‘I’m looking for you, baby’

It seems other people weren’t so lucky.

When the storm passed, people were in what had been a factory, now just a pile of rubble and rubble, looking for relatives and friends they knew were working there on Friday night. More than 100 people were missing as of Saturday afternoon.

Ivy Williams was still looking for his wife Janine on Saturday morning.

Williams said the last time he heard from his wife was Friday night before the tornado struck. His daughter told him that the factory was damaged, but when he reached the spot, he was unwilling to see the building completely level.

Williams was able to get the two men out, he said, but could not find his wife.

“I’m looking for you, baby,” Williams said. “We’re all looking for you right now.”

Emergency response teams from across the state were assisting in the search on Saturday.

“I’m standing outside the factory now, and it’s a level of devastation that none of us has ever seen before,” Beshear told CNN.

“We have dozens of people hopefully searching here. Unfortunately, we haven’t had a successful rescue since about 3 a.m.,” Beshear said Saturday morning. “There has been an enormous amount of damage here and throughout the Commonwealth.”

The leader of Kentucky Emergency Management Services said at least four tornadoes hit western Kentucky, breaking a wide path of destruction. In all, more than 30 tornadoes were recorded in six states in the outbreak of the deadliest December tornado on record. At least 79 people were killed.

“The track for this tornado event is just over 200 miles in Kentucky,” said Michael Dossett. The damage could “exceed the 1974 Super Outbreak,” a devastating tornado system that leveled hundreds of homes in Louisville as it spread to more than a dozen states.

He said Beshear declared a state of emergency on Friday and that every resource was being deployed. The National Guard is being deployed in several counties to search for survivors

Beshear said he also requested an emergency declaration from the White House, which is also sending resources.

The factory was one of the city’s largest employers.

On Saturday morning, Parsons-Perez said she was on her way to the hospital to be checked out because she had a head injury and was in pain.

“Once I got out of there, I thank God I couldn’t do anything,” she said. “That’s the only thing that saved me. It’s unbelievable that anyone left.”

Mayfield Mayor Cathy Stewart O’Nan, who was surveying the damage with Beshear, told CNN she was heartbroken by the destruction.

The factory, started by a local woman, was one of the largest employers in Mayfield, and many workers were inside during the storm, working extra hours due to the holiday season.

O’Nan said he hopes the community will come together.

“We are a small community. We are a strong community. I know that in the coming months, we will see the best people in this city,” O’Nan said. “That’s what we do. We take care of each other in bad times.”