Rescuers in Missouri worked for five hours to free horses that became trapped in a collapsed barn as tornadoes tore through the area.
Photos showed firefighters and other first responders converging on the smashed structure along Highway F in St. Charles County northwest of St. Louis on Friday night.
They climbed over the toppled wood and then reached one of the five horses inside, comforting the animal as it lay on the ground.
A photographer captured both the team using a rope and their hands get a downed horse up and then a woman tenderly touching the horse after it was free.
Crews used chainsaws and skid steers to take the barn apart. Five veterinarians were also on the scene to sedate and treat the animals, the New Melle Fire Protection District said in a Facebook post.
“It was confirmed that 5 horses were in the barn and 4 of them were visible, alive and heavily trapped,” the post said.
“One by one we were able to extricate all of the horses that were alive.”
One of the horses was killed in the collapse. Four were rescued, though one of them later died, the officials said.
The deadly tornadoes that roared through six states Friday night and Saturday morning killed at least 70 people.