A 2-mile-wide (3-km-wide) tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing at least 51 people including 20 children, destroying entire tracts of homes and trapping two dozen school children beneath rubble.

Rescue teams raced against the setting sun and worked into the darkness in search of survivors as the dangerous storm system threatened several southern Plains states with more twisters.

The Oklahoma medical examiner confirmed 51 deaths including 20 children, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since one killed 161 people in Joplin, Missouri. Area hospitals reported at least 230 people injured, including at least 45 children.

Emergency crews searched the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School to look for two dozen missing children, Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb said. The school took a direct hit from the tornado, Lamb told CNN.

Police and fire crews pulled some school children from the devastation, a KFOR television reporter said from the scene.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center provided the town with a warning 16 minutes before the tornado touched down at 3:01 p.m. local time (4.01 p.m. EDT), which is greater than the average eight to 10 minutes of warning, said Keli Pirtle, a spokeswoman for the center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a temporary flight restriction that allowed only relief aircraft in the area, saying it was at the request of local police who wanted quiet to search for buried survivors.

Oklahoma activated the National Guard, and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency activated teams to support recovery operations and coordinate responses for multiple agencies.

Briarwood Elementary School, which also stood in the storm's path, was all but destroyed. On the first floor, sections of walls had been peeled away, affording clear views into the building, while in other areas, cars hurled by the storm winds were lodged in the walls.

While the school was a wreck, nearby playground equipment stood undamaged, though littered with rubble. Across the street, people picked through the remains of their homes, looking for any possessions they might salvage.

The number of injured as reported by several hospitals rose rapidly throughout the afternoon.

【新闻快讯】

据报道，一场风速高达每小时320公里的龙卷风当日袭击了俄克拉何马城南部的穆尔市，所到之处造成“大面积损失”，很多建筑物被摧毁，大片街区沦为废墟。美国哥伦比亚广播公司报道，俄克拉何马州法医办公室已证实，目前这场龙卷风已造成至少51人丧生，其中包括数名小学生。

由于穆尔市的两所小学位于龙卷风经过地带，其中一所小学“遭到龙卷风的直接袭击。”穆尔市两所医院证实，它们目前收治了约120名伤者，其中包括约70名学生。

穆尔市警方表示，搜救工作仍在进行，目前伤亡人数还不能确认，随着搜寻工作的展开，伤亡数字还可能增加。据美国媒体报道，人口约5.5万的穆尔市曾经历过美国历史上最严重的龙卷风之一。1999年5月，一场龙卷风袭击穆尔市，造成42人死亡。