The video has accumulated millions of views and likes.
A terrifying video of a group of storm chasers getting trapped inside a tornado is going viral on social media. The clip, captured by US-based content creator Turner Charles, shows the heart-stopping moment a tornado knocks over a power line beside a road, pinning their car in the path of the oncoming storm. Mr Charles from Minneapolis is a veteran storm chaser with nearly 15 years of experience in tracking down tornadoes, according to Newsweek. However, nothing prepared him and his team for what they experienced in Lewiston, Illinois.
"On April 4th, 2023 my friends and I were impacted by some damaging inflow winds ahead of the Lewistown, IL EF3 that brought down the powerlines and trapped us in the path of the tornado. Where we then took a direct hit," Mr Charles wrote on YouTube while sharing the footage on Tuesday.
Watch the video below:
The video begins with the team being pelted by hail in their car while approaching the twister. As they drive towards it, a massive circulating cloud appears in front of them. "It is coming right at us. We are immediately downstream of it," one of the crew members is heard saying.
The group then stops and gets out of the car to capture shots of the cyclone, before continuing to track it. Then suddenly, a gust of wind brings power lines down right on top of their vehicle, effectively trapping them as sparks begin to fly.
If this wasn't terrifying enough, the group then suddenly realises that the tornado has surfaced right next to them. They stop their car as the power line continues to spark around them.
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In the clip, at this moment the group can be heard praying while the twister passes over them, rattling the car and smashing the back window with debris. At the end of the clip, when one of the members exits the car, the vehicle can be seen severely damaged and pushed off the road into a nearby ditch.
This terrifying video has now gone viral online. It has accumulated millions of views and likes. "I've never heard anyone pray so hard in my life!" wrote one user. "God was with y'all FOR SURE!!!" said another.
Speaking to Newsweek, Mr Charles said that none of the crew he was with sustained injuries during the incident.