Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed when a violent tornado barreled into the Oklahoma City metro area.
Jim Samaras told The Associated Press on Sunday that his brother Tim Samaras, 54, of Bennett, Colo., was killed Friday. Tim Samaras' son, 24-year-old Paul Samaras, also of Bennett; and another chaser, Carl Young, also died.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it believed the deaths were the first time scientific researchers were killed while chasing tornadoes. The Samarases and Young were pursuing an EF3 tornado as it bore down on a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people.
The classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" fascinated a then-6-year-old Tim Samaras, his brother said - not for the magical Emerald City, but by what took Dorothy there, the storm.
"He didn't give a crap about Toto, he didn't give a crap about the munchkins," Jim Samaras said.
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The Storm Prediction Center issued a statement Sunday, saying it was saddened by Tim Samaras' death. "Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend ... who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography," it said.
Tim Samaras had appeared on the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" show until last year and also contributed to the National Geographic Society.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tim Samaras his son Paul and their colleague Carl Young," Discovery Channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said.
