Children as young as 5 months old are the among the 80 people feared dead in Kentucky in wake of devastating tornadoes

• Gov. Andy Beshear said he feared 80 people were killed as a result of Friday night tornadoes.
• Beshear declared a state of emergency in the area, and said the death toll could exceed 100.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Sunday said he feared at least 80 people were killed as a result of tornadoes that ripped through the state late Friday.

During an apperance on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Beshear said that "a number of kids" were killed during the severe weather. Kentucky Police previously told 14 News that the youngest fatality was a five-month-old baby.

"Death and this tornado didn't discriminate against anybody in its path, even if they were trying to be safe," Beshear said.

The death toll from the extreme weather could ultimately exceed 100 people, Beshear previously said during a press conference Saturday morning.

"This is going to be some of the worst tornado damage that we've seen in a long time," Beshear said. "This is likely to be the most severe tornado outbreak in our state's history."

Tornadoes and severe weather ripped through several states late Friday, causing catastrophic damage. Rescue teams were working in numerous locations to find people feared trapped in rubble. At least six Amazon workers died when a warehouse collapsed near St. Louis, Reuters reported Saturday, adding that authorities were not expecting to find additional survivors.

—Brandon Lane (@INstormchasing) December 11, 2021

Beshear early Saturday said 56,854 people in the state were without power due to the extreme weather. As of Sunday morning, more than 10,000 people remained without power, according to the power company LG&E.

The governor also declared a state of emergency in the state as a result of the weather in the early hours of Saturday morning, deploying the state police and national guard, Insider's Morgan Keith reported.

The town of Mayfield, Kentucky, saw some of the worst damage, with a tornado smashing through a candle factory while workers hid inside.

One of factory workers had filmed herself and the conditions she was stuck in, saying: "I'm really scared, I'm trying to be cool, but I'm really scared," Insider's Alia Shoaib reported.

Videos posted to social media showed extensive damage to buildings in the town, including the partial collapse of its historic courthouse.

According to The New York Times, director of the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management Michael E. Dossett described these tornadoes as a "significant, massive disaster event" and said these storms could surpass the 1974 super outbreak of tornadoes.

—Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) December 11, 2021

Tornadoes and severe storms surged through Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri.