Heartbroken family members are picking up the pieces and mourning their loved ones after massive tornadoes devastated a Mississippi town, killing 26 people including a baby and a couple who died in each other's arms.
Lonnie and Melissa Pierce were tragically killed when the vicious twister dropped their neighbor's 18-wheeler on their house in the middle of the night in Rolling Fork.
Their heartbroken son David Brown told
Brown said he had wished he had spent more time with his parents the day before they died, adding that he still has to tell his son about what happened.
'I was told they passed away in each other's arms,' he said as tears streamed down his face. Regaining his composure, Brown added that he needed to stay strong for his family and said he felt comfort knowing that 'they are in Heaven right now.'
Other survivors helped pull out dead bodies from the debris that has been described as a 'war zone.' The death toll has risen to 26 as the massive tornado ripped through Rolling Fork and other small towns on its hour-long path.
Melissa and Lonnie Pierce 'passed away in each other's arms,' their son told the local news
David Brown broke down in tears as he shared that his parents Lonnie and Melissa Pierce died when the vicious twister dropped an 18-wheeler on their house in Rolling Fork
James Brown, standing, surveys the damage at the home of his sister Melissa Pierce and her husband, L.A. Pierce, on 7th Street in Rolling Fork, where an 18-wheeler (pictured in the background) crushed their house. Their son Dave Brown is pictured sitting on the ground
The tornado devastated a swath of the 2,000-person town of Rolling Fork, reducing homes to piles of rubble and flipping cars on their sides.
Seventh Street, where Lonnie and Melissa Pierce lived, was completely destroyed.
All 20 homes on the street - with about 80 residents total - were a complete loss, The Clarion Ledger reported.
John Brewer and his wife Joyce, neighbors of the Pierce's, were in their home when it the storm hit.
Brewer's 27,000-pound 18-wheeler truck was parked next to the house and was picked up by the twister and dropped on Lonnie and Melissa's house, killing them.
Brewer said that he discovered his boat trailed had been flung into another neighbor's property, but the boat was found two miles away.
'You look down this street and see the houses.
I'm surprised anyone survived,' Brewer told the local paper. 'If the rest of the town is like this, there could be hundreds of people killed.'
Rolling Fork residents came out in full force to help their community - which even meant digging out dead bodies from beneath crushed homes.
'I thought I was dead,' Rolling Fork resident Shanta Howard told WAPT.
'We had to help dead bodies out of the house, so that is very disturbing.
Actually seeing people losing their lives over a weather incident.