TORNADO HITS THREE AMERICAN TOWNS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24905, 19 June 1946, Page 7

TORNADO HITS THREE AMERICAN TOWNS

At Least 25 Deaths So Far Reported HOUSES SWEPT AWAY; FIRES ' FOLLOW STORM (N.Z. Press Associstion—Copyright) (Rec. 11.50 p.m.) / NEW YORK, June 18. At least 25 to 30 persons were killed when a freak tornado struck the American town of River Rouge in Michigan, and the Canadian towns of Sandwich and Windsor in Ontario. Most of the deaths so far reported occurred on the Canadian side of the border, and the Windsor radio station reported that 25 to 30 persons were killed, and 20. injured in the Windsor area. Eye-witnesses’ reports indicated that the death roll may reach several score. Gas mains were shattered in River Rouge, and the fumes were ignited. High winds after the tornado had passed whipped the flames into torches of destruction. River Rouge, which is six miles south-west of Detroit, has a population of about 20,000.

The Canadian press correspondent at Windsor says it is feared that whole families have been wiped out as the tornado cut a 100 ft swathe through Sandwieh. Many victims were decapitated. The wing of an American Army bomber feu on a house in Windsor during the height of the storm. No other trace of the aircraft is reported. A resident of Windsor, Mrs Albert Perry, said she saw at least seven persons killed opposite her home. "We saw a house lifted from its foundations.” she added. "It just came rolling along and then went up in the air. I saw bodies carried away by the wind.” • The police reported that at least 15 bodies have been recovered. Lack of electric power which was switched off because of the danger of falling wires hampered the Windsor hospitals in treating the injured. Residents of Sandwich reported that houses were lifted bodily and carried, considerable distances with the occupants still in them. Detroit railway officials said that freight’cars were tossed, about like playthings. According to an eye-witness, the wife and nine children of Mr Nelson Jones, a labourer living on the outskirts df Windsor, are dead or missing. Mr Jones’s home was found demolished. with the bodies of the mother and one child lying on the ground. The remainder of the family had disappeared. Seven persons are missing from another home.

Waterspouts were raised in the Detroit river as the tornado swept from the outskirts of Detroit to the Canadian side of the border. The main parts of Detroit suffered little. The wind there was not heavy, and the oi>ly damage was caused by a heavy rain

Windsor is a city and river port of Ontario. It stands on the Detroit river opposite Detroit, and is connected by a tunnel and a steam ferry. The population is more than 63,000. Sandwich has a population of more than 10,000, and is one of the border cities, the group of adjacent towns of which Windsor is the chief.