The devastating force of 170 mph winds from a powerful tornado in Kentucky literally tore apart a couple as they held onto each other, resulting in a terrifying loss of one arm for each individual.
Paul and Gail Cline sought refuge in the bedroom of their London, Ky. home on Friday, trying to stay safe from a fierce tornado that was ripping through the region and demolishing towns in its path.
When the twister touched down in Laurel County, the terrified husband and wife held each other’s hands for comfort.
The tornado tore through their home and pulled Paul and Gail, who are both in their 60s, apart — along with their arms, their family members said.
“The doctors said that they lost opposite arms because they were holding each other,” the couple’s niece Brandy Bowman told WLEX.
Once the tornado had passed, a neighbor decided to check on them and was drawn by Gail’s cries for help from the wreckage of their demolished house. Reports say she was calling out that a dismembered arm was visible in the hallway.
“She said, ‘I need help. I see an arm down the hallway’,” Bowman said.
The arm was actually Gail’s own – it had been torn off during the tornado.
Rescue workers sped to the Clines’ home and found the couple trapped under the rubble with critical injuries. They pulled them both out and rushed them to a nearby hospital.
Gail’s lungs were also punctured and she is on life support after being put in a medically induced coma, according to the local outlet. Paul is recovering, but remains in the hospital.
In one shred of hope amid the tragedy, Paul and Gail’s dog Sadie was miraculously found after she ran off during the storm.
Sadie, the 12-year-old pup, ran away after the tornado tore through the home. She somehow survived the disaster and found her way back to what was left of the couple’s house. She was found inside the Clines’ bedroom, waiting for her owners to return, according to reports.
The pup was brought to the hospital to comfort Paul, who has dementia and is struggling to understand what happened.
“Their home and vehicles and everything they’ve worked for is gone,” Taylor Baker, the couple’s other niece, wrote in a GoFundMe post.
“They are two of the best people you could ever find. My aunt’s daughter also has stage 4 cancer, so they were already battling that before this hit. They need all the help and prayers they can get,” she added.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
