Discovery Channel's TV personalities Tim Samaras, his son Paul and Carl Young were killed Friday while following a tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma, WGN reported on Sunday. "Storm Chasers" was a high-rated show on network TV.
The trio were among nine people that state officials reportedly said were killed in storms that struck Oklahoma on Friday evening. By Sunday, Oklahoma City Fire Chief Keith Bryant told CNN that searches said there were four additional victims killed because of he storm.
"We also want to say that storm chasers and meteorologists and news stations, that's part of the vital link in getting the word out to people so that they don't become victims," Canadian County Undersheriff Chris West said. "A lot of these individuals have dedicated many years of their lives to going out and assisting and tracking storms, and getting footage and putting themselves in harm's way so they can educate the public to the destructive power of these storms."
Tim Samaras founded TWISTEX, the Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes Experiment, in an effort to help learn more about tornadoes and increase lead time for warnings, according to the official website.
"In order to get directly in the path, you have to be close," Samaras once said. "Actually I'm pretty focused on our safety, certainly, and I'm focused on getting the data and getting the right spot," he said. "You only have one chance to do it."
"Storm Chasers" aired for five years on the Discovery Channel, with its last season ending in the fall of 2011. The network expressed condolences in a statement Sunday.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Carl Young, Tim Samaras and his son. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families," the statement said.
On Saturday morning, a spokeswoman for the state's chief medical examiner's office said two children and seven adults were killed in the Oklahoma storms. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in addition to the fatalities, people had been reported missing.
