- Jeff Bezos faced criticism over his response to the deadly Amazon warehouse collapse.
- He posted a photo on Instagram of Blue Origin space passengers, in the aftermath of the incident.
- Several hours later, he acknowledged the disaster, which he described as "tragic."
Jeff Bezos has come under fire for a late response to the deadly Amazon warehouse collapse that occurred on Friday night in severe weather conditions.
Insider's Bethany Dawson and Kelsey Vlamis reported that at least six workers died and an unknown number are missing after the incident in Edwardsville, Illinois.
As the situation unfolded, Bezos was celebrating the third launch of Blue Origin's human spaceflight, which successfully flew six passengers to the edge of space and back.
He posted a photo on Instagram of the six-member crew smiling before they flew to space. "Happy crew this morning in the training center…" Bezos captioned the post.
Several hours later, the Amazon founder then tweeted: "The news from Edwardsville is tragic. We're heartbroken over the loss of our teammates there, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones."
He added: "All of Edwardsville should know that the Amazon team is committed to supporting them and will be by their side through this crisis."
Amazon and Jeff Bezos did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
But some commentators voiced anger over his response.
"SHAME ON JEFF BEZOS!!! He was in West TEXAS today! His employees lives were lost!" one person tweeted.
Another Twitter user said: "Really struggling with my rage since Jeff Bezos blasted his major carbon polluting rocket this morning after Amazon workers died in a rare December tornado last night."
At least 70 people are feared dead in Kentucky, following the overnight tornado. The death toll from the extreme weather could ultimately exceed 100 people, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a press conference Saturday morning.