The Amazon distribution centre has partially collapsed after being hit by a thunderstorm. Photo / AP
The Amazon distribution centre has partially collapsed after being hit by a thunderstorm. Photo / AP
At least two people were killed Friday night local time when a reported tornado ripped through an Arkansas nursing home, and emergency crews in southern Illinois were also responding to reports of injuries at an Amazon warehouse after a roof collapsed amid storms there.
Craighead County Judge Marvin Day toldKAIT-TV that at least five others were injured and 20 people were trapped after the tornado struck the Monette Manor area in northeast Arkansas. A call by The Associated Press to the county office wasn't immediately returned.
The TV station reported that emergency crews from Trumann, and police and firefighters from Jonesboro were headed to the area to assist. The nursing home has about 90 beds.
Footage from St Louis TV stations showed dozens of emergency vehicles at the Amazon centre near Edwardsville, Illinois, about 25 miles west of St Louis. It wasn't immediately clear if or how many people were hurt, but the Collinsville, Illinois, Emergency Management Agency on Facebook called it a "mass casualty incident". One official told KTVI-TV that up to 100 people were believed to be in the building, working the night shift, at the time of the collapse.
Up to 100 people were believed to be in the Amazon building, working the night shift, at the time of the collapse. Photo / AP
The Belleville News-Democrat reported that the Amazon fulfilment centre in Edwardsville opened with two warehouses in 2016, with 1.5 million square feet of space. The warehouses are used to store items until they are shipped to mail-order customers.
The collapse came as a strong thunderstorm, and possibly a tornado, ripped through the St Louis area. Winds of up to 70mph (113km/h) were reported in parts of St Charles and St Louis counties in Missouri. At least three St Charles County residents were hospitalised and several homes in the area near Augusta, Missouri, were damaged.
The storms in Illinois and Arkansas were among several places in the Midwest that reported tornadoes spotted or on the ground.
