Officials in Edwardsville have identified the six victims who were killed Friday when a tornado struck an Amazon warehouse, causing the building to partially collapse.
According to the National Weather Service, an EF-3 tornado, packing wind gusts of up to 155 miles per hour, struck the area on Friday night during an outbreak of severe weather, causing severe damage to the warehouse and knocking over several portions of exterior wall at the building.
The victims were identified as:
-Austin McEwen, 26
-Deandre Morrow, 28
-Clayton Lynn Cope, 29
-Etheria Hebb, 34
-Larry Virden, 46
-Kevin Dickey, 62
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Firefighters are continuing to remove debris from the site and working with Amazon officials to account for all personnel that were in the building when the tornado struck. At least 45 people were rescued, and one other person was hospitalized due to their injuries.
There are no current reports of missing persons at the building, but Edwardsville officials are urging any residents with missing loved ones to call police at 618-656-2131.
The tornado was part of a massive outbreak of severe weather that struck Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee on Friday night. The storm system produced a devastating tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky, killing dozens of victims and leveling most of the town.
Parts of several other towns, including Bowling Green, were also destroyed by tornadoes during the outbreak, with Gov. Andy Beshear calling for federal assistance to residents devastated by the storms.
