By Kay Henderson
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Tornadoes killed fourteenagers at a Boy Scout camp in Iowa and two people in Kansasas more than 30 twisters ripped through the U.S. Midwest,authorities said on Thursday.
Close to 100 Boy Scouts scrambled for safety in sheltersand bunkhouses at the heavily wooded Little Sioux Scout Ranchin western Iowa when the tornado hit at around dinner time onWednesday, authorities said.
"It was complete chaos. It was the worst thing I've everseen. It was injured scouts and dead people," Thomas White, ascout leader, said on the CBS "Early Show."
The four boys killed at the camp were identified as two13-year-olds and one 14-year-old from nearby Omaha, Nebraska,along with a 13-year-old from Eagle Grove, Iowa.
"It was certainly a blow right to the gut," said Iowa Gov.Chet Culver.
Officials said 94 campers and 24 adults were at the campfor a "Pohuk Pride" weeklong training event.
Boy Scout leader Lloyd Roitstein said the shelters were notbuilt to withstand tornado-force winds. He said the campersknew foul weather was on the way and tried to prepare.
At least two tornado warnings were issued for Little Siouxbefore the twister struck.
Forty-eight people from the camp were injured, includingmany who remained hospitalized on Thursday, officials said.
Rescue efforts were hampered by downed trees, lightningstrikes and heavy rain. Many of the Boy Scouts, who hademergency training only a day before, quickly began helping oneanother.
"There were some real heroes," Culver said.
One of the scouts, Ben Karschner, said the tornado was"like a pounding sensation on your back."
"It wasn't like blowing around," he told CNN. "It was justgoing straight on, not stopping."
One cabin where scouts sought shelter was in the path ofthe tornado, according to several witness accounts
.
"The one that did get destroyed is where all the fatalitieswere," said White.
"It hit and all the doors flew open and it popped my ears,"said Rob Logsdon, 15, who told reporters he saw "a real smallkid under a bunch of bricks" who was not moving.
"The walls and the porch and the roof just disappeared. Igot hit by a table in the back."
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, who toured the site onThursday, described the scene as one of utter devastation.
"You see that bunkhouse and in some ways it is amazing wedidn't lose more lives than we did," he said.
SEVERAL STATES HIT
Iowa was one of several Midwestern states hit by tornadoesovernight, some accompanied by baseball-sized hail. The stormscompounded the damage from rampant flooding that has forcedhundreds of people from their homes in the Midwest.
In Kansas, twisters killed one woman, who was found in ayard outside a home in Chapman, and a man, whose body was foundoutside a mobile home in Soldier in the northeast part of thestate, said state emergency management operations spokeswomanSharon Watson.
Dozens of people were injured and at least 60 homes weredestroyed by the Kansas tornadoes, Watson said.
Several buildings at Kansas State University in Manhattan,Kansas, were damaged in the storm, according to authorities.
More than 30 tornadoes were reported Wednesday acrossKansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
(Additional reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City andDoina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
