6 dead as storms strike Texas community

Six people were killed when severe storms spawned a tornado that struck a small community near the Mexican border Tuesday, officials said.

The six people killed were reportedly in one home, said Eagle Pass Fire Chief Roy Delacruz. The tornado took the greatest toll on the unincorporated areas of Maverick County known as Loma Linda, Chula Vista and Rosita Valley, officials said.

The tornado destroyed Rosita Valley Elementary School, more than 20 homes and the Eagle Pass municipal sewer treatment plant, Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster said. Nobody was in the school when the tornado hit, he said.

Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, the Eagle Pass hospital, received 74 injured patients, Foster said. Four patients in critical condition were transported to other regional hospitals, four patients were admitted locally and 32 were discharged, Foster added.

"The hospital in the early stages was being overrun, but they had called in additional doctors and were able to take care of business," Foster said. "I spoke with the hospital administrator and they're under control."

Hospital officials could not immediately be reached Tuesday.

The Eagle Pass school district canceled classes for Wednesday, Foster said.

The National Weather Service said the tornado struck a few miles south of Eagle Pass just after 7 p.m.

More than 200 emergency responders, including National Guard units attached to the Border Patrol, were conducting search and rescue efforts, he said. Their door-to-door checks were halted late Tuesday as another series of dangerous storms swept the area.

The thunderstorm that produced the deadly tornado developed over Mexico and moved southeast over the Rio Grande and across Maverick County, said Clay Anderson, a senior forecaster with the Austin-San Antonio office of the weather service.

In Piedras Negras, Mexico, at least three people were killed and at least 40 were injured in the severe weather, authorities said. The violent storm ripped roofs from homes, toppled power poles and damaged dozens of cars and homes, said Oscar Murillo, the city's civil protection director.

Eagle Pass is located about 145 miles southwest of San Antonio.