Jeff Bezos, founder and chairman of Amazon, took to social media on Saturday night to offer his condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the Friday night tragedy.
"The news from Edwardsville is tragic. We're heartbroken over the loss of our teammates there, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones", he tweeted, nearly 24 hours after the incident.
Without announcing any specifics, Bezos expressed that Amazon intends to continue supporting the town of Edwardsville, Illinois, which has been home to two Amazon fulfillment centres since 2016.
"We extend our fullest gratitude to all the incredible first responders who have worked so tirelessly at the site", the Amazon founder added.
Bezos' post notably came after netizens called him out for gleefully celebrating his Blue Origin space journey with National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.
"I'm not a Jeff Bezos hater", tweeted political commentator Ana Navarro. "But how the hell does he have time to be at space launch today, but not to call the Gov of Illinois?"
During a Friday evening news conference, Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford confirmed that 45 individuals were able to make it out of the warehouse prior to the collapse. One worker was critically injured and airlifted to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
"The warehouse doesn't have a specific count of how many employees were in the building at the time that the storm hit, so we're unable to determine how many may be missing still", Whiteford told reporters.
He noted that the warehouse's headcount varied throughout the day, as there was a shift change at the time of the tornado.
Authorities do not believe that anyone is alive in the remaining rubble.
"Everyone assumes that they'll be safe at work", said Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, who was also in attendance at the news conference. "Families say goodbye in a routine fashion when their loved ones go off to their jobs. We don't think that they'll never come home. It's devastating".
The site of a roof collapse at an Amazon.com distribution centre a day after a series of tornadoes dealt a blow to several U.S. states, in Edwardsville, Illinois, U.S. December 11, 2021
© REUTERS / Drone Base
Madison County, which includes Edwardsville, intends to request a disaster declaration from both the state and federal governments.