At least 50 feared dead as tornado hits Kentucky in US

At least five states were hit by unseasonably powerful storms and tornadoes on Friday night, including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.

Kentucky: At least 50 people were feared dead after a tornado hit southwestern Kentucky on late Friday, CNN quoting Governor Andy Beshear reported as saying.

"We know that we are likely to have more than 50 deaths, if not significantly north of that, from this event," Beshear said.

Most of the destruction centred on Graves County, he said, including the town of Mayfield.