UTICA, Ill. - Searchers pulled eight bodies from the rubble of a tornado-flattened tavern yesterday, a day after dozens of twisters tore through the Midwest.
Mayor Fred Esmond said several people from a nearby trailer park had gone to the basement of the Milestone Tap to seek refuge from the storm.
The twister cut a wide swath of destruction in this small town 90 miles southwest of Chicago, turning homes and businesses into piles of brick and splintered wood. More than 10 people were taken to hospitals and at least six remained there yesterday afternoon.
The tornado blew roofs off many buildings in Utica, including the grade school. A nearby chain-link fence was covered in insulation blown from homes.
On houses that officials had checked for injuries, marks of OK were spray-painted in orange and pink.
The heaviest damage occurred at the two-story Milestone Tap, a century-old watering hole. The crumbling sandstone foundation slowed rescuers' efforts as they gingerly dug through the sandy ruins.
Five people were pulled alive from the rubble shortly after the storm hit. Authorities said they did not believe anyone else was missing.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich visited Utica and other communities and declared four counties disaster areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials planned to visit Thursday to see if they qualify for disaster relief.
The tornado that devastated Utica was one of dozens that smashed through the Midwest. Indiana also was hard hit, and Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma reported twisters as well.
A storm also collapsed a drugstore roof and destroyed at least one home in Joliet, outside Chicago, and damaged about 60 homes and a bank in Granville, near Utica, officials said.
Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Whalen, who saw the Utica tornado out of his kitchen window, said the twister was about the size of four houses.
It's one of those things you see once in a lifetime
he said.
The dead were identified as Larry Ventrice, 49; Wayne Ball, 63; Marian Ventrice, 50; Bev Wood, 67; Helen Menke, 81; Carol Shulpies, 40; Mike Miller, 18; and Jay Vesane, 47. 17
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