Kentucky flooding death toll rises to 25

The death toll after widespread and catastrophic flooding in eastern Kentucky has risen to 25 people.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed the grim tally in a Saturday morning tweet.

“We’ve got some tough news to share out of Eastern Kentucky today, where we are still in the search and rescue phase,” he wrote. “Our death toll has risen to 25 lost, and that number is likely to increase.”

In addition, he said the number of children among the dead is believed to now be just four, instead of the six initially reported.

“The original two children that were reported to us … turned out to be adults,” he explained, noting that numbers would continuously fluctuate.

Search and rescue efforts continued on Friday, with teams backed by the National Guard. Hundreds have already been rescued, according to the governor.

Beshear viewed the devastation from a helicopter on Friday. His initial plans to tour the disaster area had been postponed due to unsafe conditions at an airport where he was to land.