“I’m very grateful that we’re alive,” said Gary Rymek, a 65-year-old resident of Streator, Illinois. He was rescued from the rubble of his home with relatively minor injuries after a heavy tornado passed through.
Source: CNN, ABC7, WLS
Gary and his wife Roxanne take shelter in a closet during the storm on Thursday when a tornado hits. “The door flew out of my hand and suddenly everything flew to pieces,” says Gary. The roof partly collapses on top of the couple. “My wife said she loved me, and I said the same back. We thought we wouldn’t survive.”
After the storm, both appear to be buried under the debris. Gary is seriously injured: a nail pierces his arm and his ankle is shattered. Moreover, he smells a gas leak in the destroyed house. Despite his injuries, he manages to free his wife. Roxanne gets out of the rubble, but cannot save her husband on her own.
LOOK. Footage shows Gary being rescued and his response to the disaster
Staff
Freelance journalist and photographer Scott Lasker hears her calling for help and rushes over. He removes debris until emergency services arrive and can free Gary.
The couple is taken to hospital. Roxanne suffers lacerations, while Gary is likely to undergo surgery on his leg. Their home is completely destroyed, but both are mainly relieved that they survived the tornado.
Powerful tornado
According to American media, heavy storms caused at least seven tornadoes in the Chicago region and northwestern Indiana on Thursday evening.
The one that hit Gary and Roxanne was an EF-3 tornado, a powerful one with winds of about 140 to 170 mph. Such gusts are strong enough to lift cars and cause heavy damage to even sturdy homes.