Kentucky candle factory bosses threatened to fire those who fled tornado, say workers

The barrage of tornadoes that tore through Kentucky and surrounding states killed a dozen children, including a two-month-old infant, Governor Andy Beshear said on Tuesday. A total of 74 people died in Kentucky, with the oldest victim at 98 years old. Eight people have yet to be identified. More than 18,000 homes remained without power on Tuesday.

The fatalities included eight at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, that was reduced to rubble. Deaths at the candle factory were initially feared to be much higher, but a company spokesman said on Monday that the remaining 102 workers on duty at the time are alive and have been accounted for.

In Washington, the House of Representatives plans to hold a moment of silence on Tuesday evening for the victims.

More bad weather is on the way for the survivors, who have been warned by authorities in Kentucky to brace for being without power and even running water for some time, because of damage to utilities, while temperatures have been below freezing at night.

Multiple employees of the Mayfield Consumer Products factory told NBC News that they took shelter in bathrooms and hallways when they first heard tornado warning sirens, then supervisors ordered them back to work when they mistakenly assumed the danger had passed.

Images of the wreckage of the scented candle factory, one of the largest employers in western Kentucky, has become symbolic of the devastation caused by the unseasonal tornado that killed dozens across several states. Some have already questioned why the factory was even operational that night.

Haley Conder, 29, said she was one of a number of employees who approached three managers again at about 9pm when the alarm sounded a second time.

McKayla Emery, 21, interviewed by NBC from her hospital bed, said she overheard a group receiving a similar answer earlier in the evening.

The Guardian was unable to reach Mayfield Consumer Products representatives for comment on Tuesday, but according to NBC the company is denying the allegations.

Ferguson said managers had not told employees that leaving their shifts meant risking their jobs, and that company management had followed emergency protocols from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Beshear told reporters that the Kentucky Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance would undertake a months-long review of the deaths at the factory.

Jim Douglas, a candle factory worker, on Tuesday told CNN from hospital how he was crushed by wreckage and eventually rescued, with crews having to burrow many feet and break a glass door that was on top of him before they could pull him out.