- *Some staff members still unaccounted for
By Chinua Albert Okafor @TheRoboRai
Amazon's warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois collapsed following storms and tornadoes across the Midwest and South on Friday night. Reuters reports that two deaths have been confirmed, and a number of workers are still missing.
According to a post on Illinois' Collinsville Emergency Management Agency's Facebook page, the collapse was a "mass casualty" incident. The company later gave an update with a photo of the event's aftermath, showing a large section of the warehouse completely destroyed by the storm.
Police chief Mike Fillback told reporters this morning that authorities are having trouble figuring out “how many people we actually had at that facility at the time because it’s not a set staff.” Amazon management was on hand to help create a list of accounted for staff members, but Fillback notes it is still difficult to determine how many people are still trapped inside the collapsed building.
Approximately 30 people were reported to have escaped the facility safely. NBC News reports that some survivors were transported by bus to a safe area and reunited with families, while others were able to leave the scene on their own. The number of people originally in the building is unknown, but Fillback estimates that it might've been around fifty.
“The safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now,” Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said. “We’re assessing the situation and will share additional information when it’s available.”
Illinois wasn’t the only state affected by the severe storms. According to NBC News, 70 fatalities are expected in Kentucky, while one was killed after a possible tornado hit a nursing home in Arkansas. President Joe Biden sent out a tweet this morning, stating that the administration is “working with Governors to ensure they have what they need as they search for survivors and damage assessments continue.”