Tim and Paul Samaras, as well as Carl Young, died in Oklahoma

Jun 3, 2013 07:13 GMT  ·  By

Three "storm chasers" were killed in El Reno, Oklahoma, on Friday as they were following an EF-3 tornado.

As we reported, both 55-year-old Tim Samaras and his 24-year-old son Paul Samaras passed away when they got too close to the twister.

Samaras' partner Carl Young, 45, also died on the job, according to a statement posted by Tim Samaras' brother on Facebook.

"It truly is sad that we lost my great brother Tim and his great son, Paul. Our hearts also go out to the Carl Young family as well as they are felling the same feelings we are today.

"They all unfortunately passed away but doing what they LOVED. Chasing tornados," Jim Samaras says.

Samaras Senior was the world record title holder for "measuring the lowest barometric pressure drop (100 millibars) inside of a tornado" for his investigation of a windstorm that totaled Manchester, South Dakota in June 24, 2003.

NY Daily News conveys that last tweet he published on Friday, letting followers know about his crew's location as he pushed away in his chase.

"Storms now initiating south of Watonga along triple point. Dangerous day ahead for OK--stay weather savvy!" he wrote.

Three days before his death, he posted information about two tornadoes swooping down on him near Lebanon. At the time, he mentioned getting in too close to them, a risky endeavor.

"Intercepted large tornado 4 N of Lebanon--two large tornadoes at once--too close--wow!" he tweeted.

Tim Samaras received several grants from National Geographic and sent in his pieces to them on a regular basis.

Throughout his 30-year career he also appeared on "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel, as did his partner, Carl Young.

Officials at the Iowa Storm Chasing Network suggest that Samaras' might have made a wrong decision by approaching the tornado, miscalculating his odds of survival.