The ironies of life… People wake up, go to work, and don’t make it home alive; and the cause is a rare tornado no less. I suppose when it’s one’s turn to go, one goes – no matter what!TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
FREEPORT, Bahamas – An apparent tornado touched down during a fierce thunderstorm in the Bahamas on Monday and toppled a port crane, killing at least three people and injuring four.
The crane collapsed at the Freeport Container Port on the western side of Grand Bahama, where trees were uprooted and windows blasted out of hotels as at least one tornado cut a destructive path on the island about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Florida.
Two people were inside the crane when it fell and both died, said Capt. Stephen Russell, director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.
Russell said a third person was also killed and four were injured at the port, but he had no details. A port spokeswoman declined comment.
Hurricanes are common in the Bahamas but tornadoes are relatively rare. Pat Butler, a forecaster with the Bahamas Meteorology Department, said they occur about once every three years in the island chain.
Butler said weather authorities were still evaluating the reports and had not confirmed that Monday’s event was in fact a tornado.
Damage on Grand Bahama appeared to be greatest in and around Port Lucaya and Freeport, with witnesses reporting many uprooted trees, broken windows and damaged roofs and cars.
Several guests at the Island Seas Resort were taken to the hospital with minor scrapes from debris but none were seriously injured, said Hubert Gibson, the hotel’s activity director.
“Everybody’s OK. Everybody’s in good shape. It just caught us off guard,” he said.
Racquell Harvey, who works at the Port Lucaya Marina, said five boats were damaged as they seesawed in their berths while the storm whipped up white-crested waves around noon.
“The tornado just came out of nowhere,” Harvey said at the marina’s office. “We were thinking it was just a rain storm, then we saw it coming all of a sudden. It was kind of scary.”
