July 4 (UPI) -- The remains of at least some of the seven people missing at the site of Tuesday's deadly fireworks warehouse explosion in Yolo County, Calif., have been found, authorities said.
Personnel with the Yolo County Coroner's Division accessed the site on Thursday and located human remains, the Yolo County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday.
"Out of respect for the families, the identities of the deceased will not be released publicly until official identification has been made and the next of kin have been formally notified," the YCSO announced.
Coroner's office staff have contacted the families of the seven people who are missing and will continue to provide them with updates.
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The search for missing victims began Thursday afternoon, and stretchers containing what appeared to be human remains were seen outside the site, KCRA reported.
The fireworks warehouse site is located near county roads 23 and 86A in the Esparto area of Yolo County.
The facility caught fire at 5:50 p.m. PDT on Tuesday and produced a plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles before triggering multiple explosions.
Officials with the Esparto Fire Protection District have asked Cal Fire arson and bomb investigators to lead the investigation into the explosion's cause.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also has some of its investigators at the site.
Cal Fire officials on Wednesday announced seven were missing but did not begin searching for survivors until the site was deemed safe on Thursday.
The California Fire Marshal's office and other agencies delayed the search due to the potentially dangerous chemicals and unignited fireworks that remained after the explosion.
Yolo County is located directly west of Sacramento in northern California, and the warehouse location is 36 miles northwest of the city.
