Nebraska Plant Explosion Kills 2 Girls and an Employee. Here’s Why Officials Think the Kids Were There

NEED TO KNOW

• Two girls and a man are dead after an explosion tore through a biofuels manufacturing plant in Nebraska on Tuesday, July 29

• Emergency responders struggled to enter the building as the fire continued to rage into the next day

• The bodies have not yet been recovered

Two young girls and a man are dead after a catastrophic explosion at a biofuels plant in Nebraska.

Around noon on Tuesday, July 29, an explosion caused the plant in Fremont, where wood pellets are made by Horizon Biofuels, Inc., to partially collapse, NBC News reported. In the immediate aftermath, three people remained missing as initial rescue efforts were stymied by the state of the building, Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said at a news conference that evening.

"We are unable to gain access early on," Bernt said, according to the outlet. "We tried to get access, but just due to the collapse with the mangled steel, we're unable to get inside."

By Wednesday, officials confirmed that the missing individuals, identified as two girls under the age of 12 as well as an adult man, were dead, the Associated Press, ABC News and CBS News reported.

"My heart hurts," said Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg during a press conference. "It hurts for this situation, which is a tragedy. We pray for all the families involved."

The mayor said that at this time, authorities believe the girls were in the building waiting for the employee to finish work, so they could head to a doctor’s appointment. The names of the victims have not yet been released.

Despite rain on Tuesday night, the fire has continued to burn and officials say the bodies of the victims have yet to be recovered.

“It’s going to be very slow,” Carl Nielsen, who works with Fremont’s volunteer fire department, said at the press conference, according to the AP.

Beyond making pellets for heating and cooking, the company also makes bedding for pets, according to CBS News. Bernt previously told reporters that the plant stores wood and alcohol-based materials.

In 2014, a fire impacted the electrical system, but the structure was left intact, CBS News reported, citing the Fremont Tribune.

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The explosion has garnered the attention of state and local officials.

“My team is monitoring the situation at the Horizon Biofuels plant in Fremont as we await details on what caused this explosion,” Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska wrote on Facebook on Tuesday evening. “I'm grateful to local law enforcement and fire crews for their swift response, and I'm keeping the individuals who are unaccounted for — and all those impacted — in my prayers.”

The mayor, Fremont Fire Department and Nebraska State Patrol did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. As of July 30, the Horizon Biofuels website is down.

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