Officials have located human remains at the site in Esparto, California, where a fireworks warehouse exploded on Tuesday, rocking the community.
The Yolo County Coroner’s Division said Friday no positive identifications have been made, ABC 7 reported.
“The companies involved in the facility were licensed for fireworks, but the state fire marshal says they didn’t have the right permits to store them there,” the outlet noted.
Seven individuals were reported missing following the blast and four of those persons were identified by family as Jesus Ramos, Johnny Ramos, Joel “Junior” Melendez, and Carlos Rodriguez, according to CBS Sacramento reporter Conor McGill, who said the three others were still unidentified:
Officials will continue their recovery efforts through the weekend, and the identities of those who were killed in the explosion will not be revealed until their next of kin have been notified of their deaths.
Meanwhile, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said authorities will use Rapid DNA to identify the victims, KCRA reported.
“Under that process, investigators obtain DNA samples from family members to try to find a match. It is something typically utilized in a mass casualty incident,” the outlet said.
Video footage shows the moment the explosion happened, sending a massive plume of smoke and debris into the air:
When the blast occurred on Tuesday, “Everyone within a mile of the blast was ordered to evacuate, and the explosion triggered a brush fire that spread rapidly to dozens of acres in Yolo County,” according to the Weather Channel.
Additional footage from KCRA shows the scope of the blaze. Fireworks kept going off as the fire burned. Another blast erupted later, sending more debris into the air, followed by a third explosion:
The company that owned the facility is called Devastating Pyrotechnics. In a statement after the incident the company said, “Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community.”
“We are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and emergency personnel. Our focus will remain on those directly impacted by this tragedy, and we will cooperate fully with the proper authorities in their investigation,” it concluded.
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