Elderly couple killed after home destroyed by tornado in Lake Village, Indiana

An elderly couple was found dead in a home that was struck by a tornado in northwest Indiana Tuesday evening.

A severe thunderstorm produced a “large tornado” that hit Lake Village, Indiana, causing severe damage in the region. Newton County Coroner Scott McCord said in wake of the storm, an elderly couple was found dead inside their home in the 8000 block of CR 600 W, which was “destroyed” by the tornado.

The couple’s identity was not yet released, pending “positive identification and notification of the next of kin.”

The Lake Village tornado, which left several homes “annihilated,” was one of several reported tornado touchdowns to hit northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois Tuesday night.

“Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now,” Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in a video update.

The National Weather Service said it will be out surveying sites in Illinois and Indiana Wednesday, suspecting that at least four tornadoes were spawned by a “supercell tornado,” leaving a trail of destruction as homes and buildings were destroyed and power lines were severed.

People were trapped in their damaged homes and had to be rescued. Many roads were unpassable and at least 70 utility poles were knocked down, officials said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

Fewer than 10 people were hurt in Tuesday’s storms, Laurie Postma, a spokeswoman for the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department, said at the news conference.

David Ferris, a paramedic in a neighboring county who lives in Lake Village, just south of the area that was hit, said he, his wife, and their dogs “rode it out in our downstairs bathtub.” They were unscathed, except for losing power. He went out to help with rescue efforts and helped people who suffered cuts, scrapes and bumps to the head.

“We had another house where a guy crawled out,” Ferris told The Associated Press in an interview. “He was having some trouble breathing because he was covered in house insulation.”

Ferris said the local Family Dollar store was destroyed, as well as a gas station across the street. He said multiple large trees were uprooted.