Larry Virden, an Amazon warehouse worker and father of four, texted his girlfriend soon before being killed in a tornado in the United States, it is claimed.
It is claimed that an Amazon warehouse worker and father of four warned his lover that his superiors would not let him go before he was killed in a catastrophic tornado.
At least 74 people have died as a result of a series of catastrophic tornadoes that ripped through six US states.
Six people were killed when the building in an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed.
Before he was killed in the tragedy, one man allegedly told his partner that he couldn’t come home.
Larry Virden, a father of four, and his girlfriend Cherie Jones’ alleged online discussion was published on Twitter.
He wrote: “Well I will be home after the storm,” to which she replied: “What you mean.”
And Mr Virden said: “Amazon won’t let us leave.”
Ms Jones told the New York Post: “I got text messages from him. He always tells me when he is filling up the Amazon truck when he is getting ready to go back … I was like ‘OK, I love you.’
“He’s like, ‘well Amazon won’t let me leave until after the storm blows over.”
Asked if she faults Amazon for his death, she said: “Not really. But it’s that what-if situation: What if they would have let him leave? He could have made it home.”
According to the National Weather Service, a tornado slammed the area about 8:30 p.m. local time last Friday, quickly increasing as it approached the Amazon warehouse. Winds gusted to 150 miles per hour, inflicting extensive damage.
Tornado warnings were issued between 8:06 and 8:16 p.m., according to Amazon, before the tornado struck the building at 8:27 p.m.
Clayton Cope, 29, died as well, and his mother Carla said she had contacted him to say he needed to “shelter.”
“We told him it looked like the storm was heading that way and that he needed to get to shelter,” Mrs Cope told NBC affiliated television station KSDK.
Mr Cope, on the other hand, stated that he would first notify his coworkers.
His mother called him again later, but he did not answer.
According to reports, one cargo driver, Austin J McEwen, 26, died in the bathroom, where several workers claim they were advised to seek shelter.
“I was just getting in the building and they started screaming, “Shelter in place!'” said David Kosiak, 26, reported the BBC. “We were in the bathrooms. That’s where they sent us.
He added: “It sounded like a train came through the building. The ceiling tiles came flying down. It was very loud. They made us shelter in place ’til we left – it was at least two-and-a-half hours in there.”
Brady Robison, a 22-year-old Amazon van driver who worked at the warehouse, witnessed the building’s roof collapse.
He said: “It was crazy – I was on my way into the warehouse from Pontoon Beach (Illinois) when it happened. I saw the storm and was trying to get in as quickly as possible.
“I just saw the roof completely tilted up … it’s messed up that people had to lose their lives while they were at work.”
The US workplace safety watchdog is probing the situation surrounding the building’s collapse, and Amazon has stated that it will help with the probe.
Spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the company would be “supporting” the probe into what happened.
Image Credit: AP
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