ed lavandera we think is on the phone with us now. ed, give us idea what's happening where you are. >> reporter: hi, fredricka. we're in a small town of ware, mississippi, in choctaw county. this is an area where five people were killed in this tornado yesterday. we are along a little street called white grove where we believe that three of the youngest victims of this storm were killed yesterday. a 14-year-old girl, a 9-year-old girl and a 3-month-old baby girl as well. we just pulled into the neighborhood trying to get a sense of how it all unfolded here yesterday. what we're seeing is massive trees all splintered and shattered to pieces as well as dozens of homes. it's a small country roads that we're on. this was a heavily devastated area with a very tragic unfolds as three of the youngest victims were killed in the area where i am right now, fredricka. >> all right, ed. what about these three children among the ten killed in that state? what's your understanding about how that family's doing? >> reporter: we understand that the -

and that's where we find cnn's ed lavandera. who have had a very close call. what are you seeing? >> reporter: you know, as you drive around town here tonight in yazoo city, don, you really get the sense that people have been stunned by what has transpired here today. as we pulled into yazoo city just a few hours ago, some of the first people we met was a couple by the name of rob and ashley saxton. they were trying to race into this restaurant. their family owns it. they wanted to hide in the freezer here. but they didn't make it in time. >> i get the sense from what you guys were describing to me that you were right in the middle of it, it was on top of you literally. >> it was. it was glass, debris flying. when i got out of the car thinking she was going to get out behind me, i looked back and she wouldn't even get out of the car. she was so scared. and i was standing up against the building, and debris was just flying by me. and it was hitting my legs, and glass was flying, and i said debris could kill me. i dove back in the

and they told me in their words they thought they were about to die. >> ed lavandera, stay safe.d, thank you. a story that we'll be following throughout evening. meantime, i'm don lemon, back to "planet in peril" right after this. (s. phillips) malaria is the number one killer of infants in africa. exxonmobil has many employees in africa where malaria has touched their own lives; their own families. we're a part of a pioneering venture to get bed nets hung in every dwelling and medicines to babies and young children, which should save hundreds of thousands of lives. this is not gonna be solved by single doctors, governments or global agencies. it's gonna be solved by all of us working together. baccalaureate. correct. [ audience groans ] since this competition has been continuing for 48 hours and we have yet to eliminate anyone, it is the decision of this board to declare all 20 contestants winners. you have all competed admirably. admirably. a-d-m-i-r... ♪ ♪ if you're taking 8 extra strength tylenol a day... on the days that you have arthritis pain, you could end up taking 4 tim

and ed lavandera praying that that answer is yes. john, you actually talked to the ceo of this mine. let's go ahead and listen to his defense as you grilled him on production, profits and mine safety. >> wield disagree in terms of the condition of our mines. a number of violations can depend on what area you're operating in, who the inspectors are and a whole host of issues and we're a big producer, but the truth is we're doing a better job in our mines typically than what we observe otherwise. >> are you suggesting that you've been unfairly singled out? >> i'm not suggesting anything. i'm saying we know because we hire the top people from graduate schools. we do a good job of keeping our mines in good shape and we're very open with the regulators and very dedicated to safety. so i have no belief that we are not doing as good or better job than others. >> in the wake of the sago mining disaster and you know this well, mr. blankenship. new regulations were drawn up with the miner act, talking about families and how they should be info

our ed lavandera is here with us this morning.ave been traveling up and down the coal river val sley talking to folks and getting a general sense of what people are going through. what did you find? >> reporter: i find a lot of people on edge waiting for this moment, the closure to find out exactly what has happened here. this area is unique to travel. we thought it would be a good idea to get people who aren't familiar with this idea a good perspective of what it is like here. state highway 3 takes you through the heart of this southern coal mining region in west virginia. signs of coal mining are everywhere. these conveyor belts bring the coal down the mountain, put on trucks and hauled out. one resident described this forgotten stretch to me as no man's land. to donna harper, there is no place like it. we found her spending a quiet morning with her grandchildren. what's it like to live around here? >> well, to most people, it is slow. it is boring. if i had my choice to live anywhere in the world, right here would be it. >> rep