Oklahoma tornado death toll revised to 24, 9 were children

The medical examiner’s office in Moore, Oklahoma has revised the death toll from 51 to 24, including nine children. CNN had reported as many as 91 were presumed killed by the devastating tornado.

Oklahoma medical examiner spokeswoman Amy Elliot said this morning that she believes some victims were counted twice in the early chaos of the storm. The original death toll included 20 children.

“We have got good news. The number right now is 24,” said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer at the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner’s Office. She blamed the earlier high estimate on the large amount of “chaos” in the wake of the twister.

All but three of the bodies recovered have been identified and are being returned to their families, she said.

Two elementary schools were in the path of Monday’s tornado, which the National Weather Service gave a preliminary rating of at least EF-4, meaning churning wind speeds of up to 200 mph.

Oklahoma City police spokesman Sgt. Gary Knight said seven of the young victims were from Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Whole neighborhoods were flattened, families shattered and loved ones unaccounted for in the chaos of wind-scattered debris. Rescue workers combed through the wreckage of two elementary schools as darkness covered destroyed communities.

Photo: screenshot from video: http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/tornado-rips-moore-oklahoma-19221021