Missouri tornado death toll at 132, funerals begin

Friends and family paid tribute to victims of the Joplin tornado on Friday, beginning the grim task of burying the dead as officials said the savage storm's death toll had risen to 132 people. As the first funeral began just over the Kansas border, city officials said the body count had gone up by six from the previous day. The state meanwhile worked to pare down the list of people missing and unaccounted for in the wake of the deadliest single US twister in more than six decades. The original list of 232 missing or unaccounted for residents had dropped to 156 by Friday, Missouri Department of Public Safety deputy director Andrea Spillars said, adding that at least 90 people on the initial list had been located alive. But at least six others were identified as among the dead, and some new names had been added to the scroll of the missing. Authorities had cautioned for days that while they believed many on the list were alive and safe, others likely had been killed. City manager Mark Rohr acknowledged during an afternoon news conference that there may be "significant overlap" between the confirmed dead and the remainder of the missing list. Still, search and rescue crews were undeterred, with 600 volunteers and 50 dog teams out again across the city. "We're going to be in a search and rescue mode until we remove the last piece of debris," Rohr said. On Friday night, the Department of Public Safety made public a list of 31 people who had been confirmed dead and whose next of kin had been notified. State troopers were helping to notify the kin of others killed in the storm, and the department planned daily updates. Earlier Friday, hundreds of mourners packed Tennessee Friends Prairie Church in Galena, Kan., for the first funeral of the tornado's confirmed victims. The tornado - an EF5 monster packing 200 mph winds - was the deadliest since 1950 and more than 900 people were injured. Tallying and identifying the dead and the missing has proven a complex, delicate and sometimes confusing exercise for both authorities and loved ones. At least 19 bodies have been released to relatives. Identification has been slow because officials have taken extra precautions since a woman misidentified one victim as her son in the chaotic hours after the tornado hit. Authorities say their deliberate identification efforts are necessary to avoid more mishaps. from/ Gulf News