Tornado Hits Iowa Boy Scout Camp

It's been a rough tornado season:

DES MOINES, Iowa - A tornado struck a western Iowa Boy Scout camp Wednesday, killing at least four people and injuring 40, an Iowa Homeland Security spokeswoman said.

A search and rescue team has been deployed to the camp near Little Sioux, Homeland Security spokeswoman Julie Tack said. She said the camp was covered with debris and downed trees after the tornado hit about 7 p.m.

Some victims might be trapped under debris, Tack said.

"We are still receiving information and we're processing it as we receive it," she said.

There were 93 campers and 25 staff members at the camp, Tack said. The campers were between 13 and 18 years old and were attending a leadership training camp.

"They were considered some of the best in the area," Tack said.

If I had to choose a group of people to be with in a situation like that, Boy Scouts wouldn't be a bad choice.

UPDATE:

Scouts from all three states were among the 93 Boy Scouts and 25 staff members attending the camp at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch that is four and one-half miles northeast of the town of Little Sioux in Harrison County, about 40 miles up the Missouri River from Omaha on the Iowa side.

Early reports indicated that the Scouts had split into two groups, one out hiking and the other in a brick shelter. Some of the most badly injured Scouts were in the shelter, hit by flying bricks and debris.

Dan Neary, chairman of the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said "this truly is one of the most difficult times in the history of the Boy Scouts." The Mid-America Council serves 58 counties in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The boys were attending special leadership training at the 1,800 acre camp facility.

Lloyd Roitstein, executive director of the Mid-America Coucil, said the Scouts were given an emergency drill on Tuesday, just one day before the tragedy. Roitstein said the Scouts "performed remarkably" when disaster struck.

Panicked parents roamed up and down Interstate Highway 29 Wednesday evening searching for their children at one of several hospitals between Omaha/Council Bluffs and Sioux City, where the victims were taken.