WATCH: Tornado rips through Kansas in US, damages multiple buildings; leaves over 15,000 without power

New Delhi: A tornado ripped through US’ Kansas on Friday (April 29) wreaking havoc, injuring several people and leaving over 15,000 people without power. 

As per AP report, the tornado hit parts of southeast Wichita and Andover on Friday evening. Speaking about the trail of destruction caused by the powerful twister, Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell informed on Saturday morning that 50 to 100 buildings were damaged in Sedgwick County, while the number remained unknown in Andover. Russell said a few neighbourhood homes “were completely blown away.” 

A video of the destruction caused by the tornado has been viral on the internet. Watch the clip here:

Highest-res drone footage of the Andover, KS #tornado which has received a preliminary rating of EF3. Note how the tornado propagates via vortex dynamics and likely terrain. Incredibly, no lives were lost by this tornado pic.twitter.com/FJDBH8TAv6 — Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) April 30, 2022

However, there were no critical injuries or fatalities reported from the tornado itself, the report said. The officials said three people were wounded in Sedgwick County, including a woman who sustained serious injuries.

Search and rescue operations remained underway on Saturday with more than 200 emergency responders pressed into service. 

City Hall, the Andover YMCA and Prairie Creek Elementary School were among the heavily damaged buildings, the AP reported. 

Meanwhile, besides the ruination brought on by the tornado, three University of Oklahoma meteorology students, who were travelling back from storm chasing in Kansas, were also killed in a crash Friday evening, the officials said. The deceased were identified as Nicholas Nair, 20, of Denton, Texas; Gavin Short, 19, of Grayslake, Illinois; and Drake Brooks, 22, of Evansville, Indiana. 

(With agency inputs)