Atlanta, GA 5/27/2011 10:10:12 PM
Joplin Authorities to Release List of Missing, Death Toll at 126
Authorities in Joplin, Missouri are working to compile an
accurate list of residents still missing in the wake of Sunday’s deadly
tornado. The Missouri Department of Public Safety plans to release the list at
11 a.m. on Friday. The current list puts the number of missing at 232.
Governor Jay Nixon vowed to recover all of the missing. "We
will keep a relentless focus on the search, rescue and identification of those
232 people, and we will not rest until everyone has been accounted for, and
that number is zero," he said Thursday.
Meanwhile, the official death toll rose to 126 on Thursday.
Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said identifying the dead has been a
struggle as many of the bodies are in poor condition. "A lot have blood on
their face, they don't look like they used to look," he said.
Federal authorities have brought $2 million dollars worth
of equipment to the area to help with the identification process.
The tornado, reported to be about 1 mile wide, touched
down in Joplin around 6 p.m. Sunday. The storm had winds of nearly 200 mph.
Joplin Emergency Management Director Keith Stammer told CNN’s “American
Morning” the twister rippled through the densely populated "central portion
of the city.” Officials estimate about 30 percent of Joplin was damaged.
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