Storms kill 3, injure others in N. Arkansas

By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 2 (Reuters) - Severe storms roared through northern Arkansas on Friday, killing three people and seriously injuring six.

Two people were killed in the small farming community of Center Ridge, about 60 miles (100 km) north of Little Rock, the state capital, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said in a statement.

A third person died in Benton County in the northwest corner of the state along the borders with Oklahoma and Missouri.

Emergency services workers in Conway County, where Center Ridge is located, said six people were rushed to hospitals.

"We know there has been significant property damage so the number of deaths and injuries could grow," said Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler.

State police and local emergency crews were searching for other injured people, Sadler said.

At least six western Arkansas counties said heavy rain and frequent lightning caused damage as the storms, which stretched from Missouri to Texas, rampaged across the state.

The storms formed when a mass of warm, moist air collided with a cold front near the state's western border. (Editing by Erwin Seba and Frances Kerry)