Amazon warehouse collapse in Illinois: All missing people now 'accounted for,' police say
The community of Edwardsville, Illinois, is picking up the pieces after a tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse Friday night, killing six employees.
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The community of Edwardsville, Illinois, is picking up the pieces after a tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse Friday night, killing six employees.
Amazon says the building was 1.1 million square feet, but a good portion of it has been leveled.
"It’s unbelievable, it’s like a war zone. Like a bomb went off," said Steven Foley, a driver for Amazon who works at the warehouse.
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A tornado destroyed an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, killing six people. (Courtesy of Fox News)
Foley was working the night of the storm and says he’s lucky to be alive. He was out driving when the tornado hit.
"I could have been here 25 minutes before, I would have been inside the building," Foley said.
"Honestly, I’m just worried about my friend right now. It’s insane though, nothing like this has ever happened to me," said Amazon driver Emily Epperson.
Epperson wasn’t on shift that night but returned to the area Saturday morning because her friend, Austin McEwen, was missing. McEwen was later confirmed as one of the dead.
"I just came here because I want to know something. The unknown is really, it sucks," she said.
A tornado recently destroyed an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. (Courtesy of Fox News)
"To anyone who experienced damage to your home or business we will pursue all available resources to help you recover," said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a Saturday news conference.
State officials say 45 people made it out of the building safely that night, but Amazon could not confirm how many people were there at the time.
"At this time, everyone reported to have been at the property when this event occurred has been accounted for and we have no other report of missing individuals," Edwardsville Police said Monday in a news release.
Police say one person remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Amazon says the part of the warehouse that was destroyed was partially used as a parking area. Dozens of mangled cars were seen being trucked away on Sunday.
"We’re going to do everything we can to assist those families through this," said Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel.
Amazon says it donated $1 million to the Edwardsville Community Foundation.
"It's everything from making sure that they have the supplies to food and water, blankets and anything and everything in between," Nantel said.
A tornado recently destroyed an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. (Courtesy of Fox News)
Nantel says Amazon is standing by as crews work to make the building safe again. Edwardsville Police said the city's fire department is still working to clear debris from the site and working with representatives of Amazon to transition the property back to their control.
"And once they do that, and they've completed their search and recovery efforts, then they'll turn the building back over to us and we'll be able to evaluate it," Nantel said.
As far as the busy holiday season goes, the company says the disruption at this warehouse won’t cause any major issues because other Amazon facilities can make up for it.
A tornado recently ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. (Courtesy of Fox News)
"There may be some lost property, some lost boxes, and packages in there, but we'll be able to make those customers orders right as well," Nantel said.
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Amazon says it will also work to provide assistance to the families of those affected.
"It's just unbelievable that you think something like this would happen close to home," Foley said.
Authorities identified the victims as:
Deandre S. Morrow, 28
Kevin D. Dickey, 62
Clayton Lynn Cope, 29
Etheria S. Hebb, 34
Larry E. Virden, 46
Austin J. McEwen, 26
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