Illinois Amazon warehouse reported missing World | DW

Several employees of e-commerce company Amazon were trapped inside a company warehouse on Friday night (12.10.2021) after the building collapsed, causing a hurricane in the state of Illinois (USA) in recent hours, including severe weather records.

Officials and local media explained that both the Saint Clair County Emergency Services and the Edwardsville Fire Department went to the affected building immediately after the first warning to begin efforts to rescue trapped workers.

Despite these reports, it is not yet known the exact number of workers in the warehouse and whether there were serious injuries or major damage.

The Collinsville Emergency Management Agency called it a “major fatal incident.”

Meanwhile, an official told KTVVI-TV that there were believed to be up to 100 people on the night shift at the time the building collapsed.

Amazon did not immediately release a statement on the matter.

The building was reported to have collapsed shortly after 8:30 pm local time (Saturday 3:30 CET) when a hurricane caused landslides in the city.

Edwardsville, a small town of about 25,000 people, is located 450 kilometers southwest of Chicago, near the Illinois-Missouri border.

jc (efe, ap)