Most Amazon workers who died in warehouse tornado were not sheltering in the 'designated location,' the company said

• Amazon continues to face scrutiny over the deaths of six workers in a tornado at one of its sites.
• Most of those who died were not sheltering in 'the designated location,' the company told the BBC.

A statement from Amazon about its safety policies said that most of those who died in its Illinois warehouse during a devastating tornado were not sheltering in the designated area.

Six workers died in the collapse of an Amazon fulfillment center in Edwardsville on Friday, where the storm tore off part of the building's roof and knocked down a large wall.

It came amid deadly weather that swept Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. The collective death toll has reached at least 90, with most in Kentucky, according to The New York Times.

Amazon said in a statement to the BBC that its policy for impending tornadoes is for staff to be "notified and directed to move to a designated and marked shelter in place location."

Most people sheltered at "the primary designated location," the company told the outlet. But some sheltered in another part of the building, the company said in a statement to Insider. "This is where most of the tragic loss of life occurred," the company added.

It did not say exactly where the designated place or the other area were, nor specify where deaths took place.

Amazon has defended its conduct, noting that it had relatively little time to react. Although wide swathes of the affected area were under a tornado watch all through Friday, the stronger "tornado warning" alert came later.

It received one warning at 8:06 p.m. and a second at 8:16 p.m., it said. The tornado hit at 8:27 p.m.

Managers worked "incredibly quickly" to get people into shelter when the storm warning came, Amazon told the BBC.

The claim was not convincing to one victim's relative. The sister of 29-year-old Clayton Cope, one of the six dead, told the BBC that she did not think staff were told to shelter after the first of the two warnings. The BBC referred to the woman as Rachel.

In a Monday statement to Insider, Amazon said: "Our team worked quickly to ensure employees and partners could get to the designated shelter in place area.". The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment over Rachel's statement.

Amazon has faced intense scrutiny since the storm after some employees criticized the company's policies and decision-making in the aftermath of the disaster.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the site Monday.

Cherie Jones, the girlfriend of Larry Virden, another worker who died, told the New York Post that he texted her to say that Amazon was not allowing him to leave as the tornado approached.

Several Amazon employees have also criticized a company phone ban operating in some locations, Bloomberg reported. On Monday, the company push back on this, saying workers and drivers in Edwardsville were allowed to have their phones.