The tornadoes Friday devastated much of our country, destroying entire towns and leaving many without homes or a place to go. Much of the property damage includes buildings collapsing and in worst-case scenarios, leaving people trapped or killing them in the process. Luckily, some stories have happy endings, such as a case in Missouri where first responders rescued “heavily trapped” horses in a barn that collapsed.
The New York Post covered the story, which saw Missouri rescuers working for five hours to free the horses. The scene was truly inspirational, with firefighters, veterinarians, and first responders all contributing to free the animals. The New Melle Fire Protection District even detailed the effort in a Facebook post.
“One particular scene was a large barn that had collapsed with horses inside,” the post began. “It was confirmed that 5 horses were in the barn and 4 of them were visible, alive and heavily trapped. Crews went to work carefully dissecting the barn with chainsaws and skidsteers. There were 5 veterinarians on scene assisting in sedating and treatments. One by one we were able to extricate all of the horses that were alive.”
Unfortunately, the department discovered a horse that had passed away before they got there. One of the rescued horses also passed away. Nevertheless, “Rescue efforts took approximately 5 hours. It’s events like this that really show what our community is made of. Between our volunteer firefighters, all of career firefighters, local businesses and residents along with fire and Ems crews from all over we were able to mitigate the disaster. We want to thank everyone who assisted in rescue efforts, sorry if we missed anyone.”
Indiana Woman Finds and Returns Kentucky Family Photo Lost in Tornado
Though the barn collapsing on the horses is terrible, at least the story had a relatively good ending. Similarly, after finding a Kentucky family’s old photo thanks to a tornado, an Indiana woman 150 miles away was able to return it to them.
New Albany, Indiana native Katie Posten stated on her social media platforms she walked to her car Saturday morning and found quite a surprise. Stuck to the window was an old black and white family photo. “Walked out to my car in New Albany, IN and found this picture stuck to the window. Undoubtedly from a home that was struck by the tornado that ripped through Kentucky last night. Hoping to find its owners. It looks like it reads – Gertie Swatzell and JD Swatzell 1942 – pls RT,” it reads.
Miraculously, the post gained traction and she actually found the Kentucky family. The Swatzell family from Dawson Springs, Kentucky connected with Posten and confirmed the photo was theirs. Posten provided another update, saying the two parties are finalizing a plan to meet up and exchange the photo.
