‘It just sounded like bombs were dropping everywhere’: Two dead after storm winds cause a Baltimore Amazon distribution center’s 50-foot wall to collapse
- Intense storms with high winds passed through Maryland on Friday night
- The storm passed over a Baltimore Amazon Fulfillment Center, leading to the collapse of a 50-foot high wall while workers were still inside
- Firefighters pulled one man out of the rubble on Friday night, but he was declared dead at the hospital
- They were able to pull a second body out of the debris on Saturday morning
- It’s thought that the high winds could actually have been a tornado
Two people are dead following a wall collapse at a Maryland Amazon distribution warehouse, which was caused by an intense storm.
Strong storms and intense winds passed through Maryland Friday evening, apparently contributing to the collapse of a 50-foot wall at the Amazon Fullfillment Center in Southeast Baltimore at about 10.30pm.
Baltimore firefighters pulled one man out from under the wall debris Friday. He was taken to the hospital, where he was then declared dead.
Two men died after high winds during a storm caused a 50-foot wall to collapse at an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Maryland on Friday night
Debris from the wall collapse was scattered around the Amazon warehouse’s grounds
Firefighters then worked through the night to try to locate a second person who was reported missing. They used heavy equipment to shift debris including concrete and eventually found the second victim on Saturday morning at about 7.30am, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Neither of the two men’s names have been released yet and it is unclear if they were Amazon employees or third-party contractors.
Officials are still considering the Amazon warehouse an ‘active scene’ and said that firefighters would keep sifting through debris to ensure that there were no other victims buried beneath.
Amazon employee Brandon McBride, who was at the warehouse at the time of the wall collapse, told 11 News that ‘It just sounded like bombs were dropping everywhere’ and said that ‘There was stuff falling everywhere, you could see the walls were caving in.’
Amazon closed the entire building following the wall collapse.
In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson told the Sun that, ‘First responders remain onsite assessing the damage. The safety of our employees and contractors is our top priority and at this time the building remains closed.’
Firefighters found the first victim on Friday night, but he was declared dead at the hospital. They had to use heavy equipment to move debris before locating the second victim Saturday
The heavy winds knocked down fences and light poles, as well as scattering debris
An overturned truck and fallen corrugated steel sheets are seen at the warehouse Saturday
The Amazon Fulfillment Center as it looked prior to Friday night’s storm damage
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‘We are incredibly thankful for the quick response from emergency services. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families impacted by last night’s tragic event,’ the spokesperson added.
Footage taken by WJZ at the Amazon Fulfillment Center revealed overturned, large delivery trucks, as well as knocked down light polls, fallen corrugated metal sheets and other damage.
Meanwhile, roads leading to the warehouse were littered with debris and a tractor trailer truck was reported as having been overturned on a nearby highway.
The Amazon Fulfillment Center was one of several buildings to suffer from storm-related damage.
Roofs were reported to have been blown off apartment buildings in Dundalk, Maryland, while sections of ceilings were said to have fallen in at the Twin Arch Shopping Center’s TJ Maxx and HomeGoods store.
The National Weather Service is determining whether the storm’s strong winds can be classified as a tornado.
If it turns out that it was, in fact, a tornado that touched down, the two Amazon Fulfillment Center deaths would be the first tornado-related deaths to be experienced in Maryland since 2002, according to the Sun.
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