Crews recover bodies after US meat plant Explosion
Pastor Dale Morgan
Crews recover bodies after US meat plant Explosion*
Alysia Patterson
June 11, 2009 - 5:49AM
Recovery teams worked cautiously in the unstable wreckage of a snack
factory on Wednesday to retrieve two remaining bodies a day after an
explosion ripped through the plant.
Crews recovered the body of one victim, a woman whose family said she
had worked at the Slim Jim meat snack plant for 15 years, early on
Wednesday after overnight rain and storms temporarily halted work
because of worries that more of the plant could collapse.
The crews were entering the ConAgra Foods Inc plant in Garner, North
Carolina, through ground level wreckage and were also looking for a way
in through a gaping hole in the roof to get closer to one of the bodies.
The unexplained blast on Tuesday morning blew down a wall and collapsed
part of the roof of the 46,500-square-metre building while 300 people
were at work. Officials said 38 employees were injured, including four
with critical burns, and three firefighters were treated for inhaling
ammonia fumes and released.
Police said recovery crews located two bodies on Tuesday and found the
remains of a missing worker on Wednesday. Authorities do not believe
anyone else died, Garner Police Sergeant Chris Clayton said.
Recovery teams were required to wear bulky hazardous material suits
because ammonia vapour, which had been tamped down by the rain, was
leaking up through the debris, McLaurin said.
The only victim recovered so far was Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of Dunn.
Her brother, 38-year-old Anthony McLean, told The Associated Press that
Spears worked at the plant for about 15 years, most recently in the
cutting department.
"I knew she was a victim when I went to ConAgra and she didn't get off
the bus," McLean said. "I knew something was wrong with my sister at
that time. No one could tell us what hospital she was in or anything."
Clayton said Spears' remains were brought out early on Wednesday, not
the night before as previously reported by other rescue officials.
ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said a fund was being set up to
help families of victims and that employees would continue to be paid.
Authorities could not say where in the plant the blast happened or what
caused it, but some workers who escaped said chaos and panic followed.
The company, which has 25,000 employees worldwide, makes brands like
Chef Boyardee, Hunt's tomato sauce, ACT II popcorn and Hebrew National
hotdogs.