The attempt to survive of the six Amazon workers killed during the tornadoes

Charging conductor Amazon Austin J. McEwen, 26, was an only child who loved listening to rapper Mac Miller and hunting with his friends. He died trying to take shelter from a powerful tornado in the bathroom at an Amazon warehouse last Friday night, according to a co-worker.

McEwen was one of six workers identified by police who died when his plant in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed under the force of a devastating tornado. A barrage of tornadoes ripped through six US states, leaving a trail of death and destruction in homes and businesses that extends for more than 200 miles (322 km).

• Tragedy in the US: authorities confirm 88 dead by tornadoes and fear more victims | PHOTOS
• USA: “75% of the town disappeared” by the tornado in Kentucky
• Biden will travel to Kentucky to inspect damage after deadly tornadoes

“He was my friend and he didn’t make it”, said his coworker Brian Erdmann, who was on his way to make a delivery to the warehouse. “If I had returned 45 minutes earlier, I would have probably been in the same place. I would have been there with him. “

The other Amazon workers identified as dead by a coroner were Deandre S. Morrow, 28, from St. Louis, Missouri; Kevin D. Dickey, 62, de Carlyle, Illinois; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, de Alton, Illinois; Etheria S. Hebba, 24, from St. Louis, Missouri; y Larry E. Virden, 46, de Collinsville, Illinois.

Several employees said Amazon managers had instructed them to take refuge in bathrooms after receiving emergency alerts from authorities on their mobile phones. Amazon said employees were ordered to take shelter in a designated meeting area at the front of the building, which was near a bathroom.

The site received tornado warnings between 8:06 p.m. and 8:16 p.m. before the tornado struck the building at 8:27 p.m., the company said. “Our team worked quickly to ensure that as many employees and partners as possible were able to reach the refuge at the designated location, ”the company said in a statement. “We thank you for all that you were able to do.”.

Some of those workers said they had kept their phones despite what they believed to be a violation of a security policy. Amazon that prevents them from having cell phones at work. The company responded by saying that there is no Amazon that prevents employees or contractors from having a cell phone at work.

“I was at the end of my route. I was entering the building and they started shouting: ‘Shelter in place!’ ”Said David Kosiak, 26, who has worked at the facility for three months. “We were in the bathrooms. That’s where they sent us ”.

“It sounded like a train was going through the building. The roof tiles collapsed. It was very loud. They made us shelter in place until we left; they spent at least two and a half hours there ”.

The National Weather Service said the hurricane struck the area between 8:28 and 8:32 p.m. Central Time, intensifying rapidly when it struck the warehouse of Amazon. With maximum winds estimated from winds of 150 miles per hour (241 km per hour), the force was so severe that the roof broke and 11-inch (28 cm) thick walls longer than soccer fields fell on themselves. .

At least 45 Amazon employees made it out safely. Authorities had given up hope of finding more survivors as they transitioned from rescue efforts to recovery efforts that were expected to last days.

The company has three facilities in Edwardsville– The storm-hit delivery station, as well as a fulfillment center and sorting station. The delivery station opened in July 2020 to prepare orders for last-mile delivery to customers.

Amazon He said he was donating $ 1 million to the Edwardsville Community Foundation. The company said it is providing relief supplies, as well as transportation, food and water.

On Sunday, the workers of Amazon They arrived at the warehouse across the street, heavily guarded by security, to start their shifts.

“It is a reminder of the trauma I just endured, but i will work at amazon again”Said McEwen’s friend and co-worker Emily Epperson. “This is my livelihood.”

_________________________________

• Next pandemic could be “worse or deadlier,” warns Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine creator
• How the new Super Green Pass complicates social life for the unvaccinated in Italy
• Flight MH370: can one of the great mysteries of aviation finally be solved?
• Plumber finds money hidden in the wall of a megachurch (and could have solved a mysterious robbery from 2014)
• They find dead a young Brazilian woman who was missing and who was forced to dig her own grave
• US Congressman Releases Christmas Family Photo With Guns, Days After School Shooting

.

Deshawn