A powerful tornado hit a scout camp in western Iowa on Thursday morning killed four teenagers and injured at least 48 scouts or staff members, authorities said.

Officials released the names of those who died as the powerful twister buried them under rubble. The tornado which hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch killed Scouts Josh Fennen, 13; Sam Thomsen, 13, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Nebraska; and Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, according to Gene Meyer, Iowa public safety commissioner.

Two other fatalities were reported in Kansas, where a deadly tornado touched ground. Many other people were injured and several buildings were damaged at Kansas State University. The small town of Chapman was also badly hit by the tornado.

Rescue workers in Iowa had to cut their way through branches and to dig though debris Wednesday night to reach the scout camp. There were 93 boys, ages 13 to 18, and 25 staff members in the camp when the twister struck. The scouts were attending a leadership training camp.

The scouts did everything they could to save their lives and took shelter before the tornado siren went off at the camp, said Lloyd Roitstein, an executive with the Mid America Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

The scouts were divided in two groups when the tornado hit. One of the groups managed to find shelter before the mayhem started, but the other was out in the open hiking. They latter was hit the hardest.

At least 42 scouts and staff members are in hospital at the moment. They suffered everything from cuts and bruises to major head trauma, said Gene Meyer, Iowa's public safety commissioner. Four injured were taken to the hospital by helicopter.

Rob Logsdon, a 15-year-old staff member at the camp, told CNN's "American Morning” that although he had suffered severe injuries, he managed to rescue some of his fellow Boy Scouts. They were trapped under a collapsed chimney.

"I was standing up trying to pull bricks off the kids that were sitting there, and then I couldn't do any more because my hip and leg were hurting so badly," said Logsdon, who dislocated his hip, sprained his ankle and was gashed in his knee when the tornado struck the shelter.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of the victims," Gov. Chet Culver said. "We continue to do everything we can to make sure those injured are going to recover."