Washington: Chief Amazon Jeff Bezos said he was “heartbroken” Saturday after at least six people were killed in the Amazon warehouse in the US Illinois state when hit by a tornado.
“News from Edwardsville tragic,” Bezos tweeted about the city where the facility was located.
“We were broken hearted for losing our teammates there, and our thoughts and prayers with their families and loved ones.” The warehouse was shocked by a series of tornadoes that ripped six US states, killing more than 80 people in total in what President Joe Biden said was “one of the biggest storm outbreaks in history.
Up to 100 Amazon employees working the night shift before Christmas is believed to have been stuck when the warehouse collapsed, and it is not clear how much might be trapped.
Earlier on Saturday, Edwardsville Fire Head James Whiteford told reporters that 45 people came out of the building safely, someone had to be flown to the hospital for treatment, and at least six had died.
But he said the operation had changed from rescue to focus “only on recovery,” triggering toll fears could rise.
“All Edwardsville must know that the Amazon team is committed to supporting them and will be beside them through this crisis,” Bezos tweeted.
“We extended our full thanks to all the extraordinary first respondents who had worked tired at that location.”