EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — As cleanup continues at the collapsed Amazon warehouse, OSHA investigators are trying to piece together exactly what took place inside the building and why it failed structurally.
“Six individuals clocked in on Friday and they never came home,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
Carla Cope’s son Clay was killed when the Amazon warehouse he was working in collapsed after taking a direct hit from an EF-3 tornado, and she says only blame can be placed on mother nature.
“You don’t get warning as to where she’s going to touch down,” said Carla Cope. “You know it’s coming close, but it could hit my house and not yours.”
However, that’s not stopping OSHA from launching an investigation into what took place inside the building.
“Already there’s been an effort to determine some of the challenges,” said Pritzker. “Structural issues, if there were any structural issues, and what exactly the storm's trajectory was.”
An Amazon spokesperson provided the following written statement Tuesday morning.
“OSHA investigates all workplace fatalities and we are supporting them,” Amazon Director of Media Relations Kelly Nantel said.
Governor Pritzker called those inside the building heroes for their actions.
“There were ledges of concrete that were hanging and potentially endangering people that these folks walked through to find and rescue people,” said Pritzker.
Congresswoman Cori Bush posted a different take on Twitter where she said in part that “Amazon’s greed killed them when they were forced to work during a tornado.”
A claim that Amazon denies.
“They definitely saved lives,” said John Feldman, Amazon Sr. VP of Global Delivery Services. “We’re going to keep investigating and seeing if we can get better and what we could’ve done differently.”
According to Pritzker, the warehouse didn’t have a basement due to the water table.
“Even if they had a bunker that they could’ve gotten to the building is large and it takes time to get there,” said Cope.
That’s why the Governor says it may be time to update building codes across the state.
“While we cannot prevent natural disasters, we can strive to prevent future tragedies and ensure that all Illinoisans make it home safe at the end of their shift,” said Governor Pritzker.
An Amazon spokesperson says that they are giving all employees inside the building the option to take time off and that they're providing them with rental cars and Lyft certificates.
They went on to say they're committed to rebuilding the damaged facility.