Bodies of plant blast victims recovered

GARNER, N.C., June 10 (UPI) -- Crews removed three bodies from the rubble of a Garner, N.C., food plant rocked by an explosion, officials said Wednesday.

The North Carolina Task Force 8 Urban Search and Rescue, which led the recovery effort, said it would scour the plant one last time before investigators begin trying to determine what caused the blast, WRAL-TV, Raleigh, reported.

Crews suspended their search overnight because rainwater added weight to the damaged roof, making it more dangerous, Garner police Sgt. Chris Clayton said. They resumed their search Wednesday.

"Right now, we don't have any reason to believe anyone else is in (the plant)," Garner police Sgt. Chris Clayton said.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs choked up when she spoke of the workers who were killed or injured in the explosion at the plant known for producing Slim Jim beef jerky products, the television station said.

"Our thoughts and our prayers are with those employees and their families," Childs said.

A U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives team traveled to Garner to assist the Wake County Fire Marshal in investigating the explosion, Clayton said. Inspectors from the state Department of Labor also would assist in the probe.

ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin, who arrived in Garner from the company's headquarters in Omaha, said the company's goal was "to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

Childs said the company would pay workers "while this situation is under way," but said it was to early to determine when the plant may reopen.

ConAgra has a plant in Holly Ridge, N.C., but officials told WRAL they haven't determined whether Garner employees would be offered jobs there until the local plant can reopen.

"Our hope is to rebuild," Rodkin said. "Obviously, there are many challenges."