Washington, June 21 (Agency) Nine children and one adult were killed in a road accident in the US state of Alabama, authorities said.
The accident took place on the Interstate 65 in Butler County, reports Xinhua news agency.
In a statement on Sunday, Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock said that eight of the children killed were aged between between four and 17, and were travelling in a vehicle from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a local non-profit that provides home for neglected or abused school-aged girls,.
A 29-year-old man and his nine-month-old daughter who were in another vehicle were also killed, Garlock said.
The accident took place amid ongoing storms sweeping through Alabama, according to Garlock.
A tropical depression known as tropical storm Claudette dumped heavy rain across the US Southeast on Saturday after it made landfall in Louisiana.
In a statement, Michael Smith, the CEO of the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, the non-profit that manages the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, called the accident “a horrible tragedy and loss”.
In addition to those killed in the vehicle crash, a 24-year-old man and his three-year-old son died in their home when a falling tree struck the residence, Marty Sellers of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office told local media.
The tropical depression is now moving toward the Atlantic Coast and is predicted to re-strengthen.
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