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GARNER (AP) — Search crews have recovered three bodies from a Slim Jim snack factory a day after an explosion ripped through the plant.

Police said searchers will continue scouring the building wreckage today but that only three employees were reported missing after the blast.

Crews brought out two bodies in the afternoon after retrieving the remains of 43-year-old Barbara McLean Spears of Dunn before dawn.

Garner Police Sgt. Chris Clayton named the two other victims as 67-year-old Rachel Mae Poston Pulley and 33-year-old Lewis Junior Watson, both of Clayton.

Officials said at least 38 employees were injured, including four with critical burns, and three firefighters were treated for inhaling ammonia fumes.

Dunn's brother, Anthony McLean, 38, told The Associated Press that Spears had worked at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Garner 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." McLean, of Ocala, Fla., was visiting family in Dunn, about 30 miles south of Garner.

Spears' body was retrieved Tuesday night before searchers suspended work because heavy rains threatened to collapse the unstable structure.

Search and rescue chief Frank McLaurin said the two bodies were within 100 feet of each other in the rubble.

Crews worked in hazmat suits because ammonia vapor, which had been tamped down by the rain, was leaking up through the debris, McLaurin said. But the gas wasn't a danger outside of the building and schools in the area planned to proceed with classes. Some roads in the area were still closed.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said a fund was being set up to help families of victims and that employees would continue to be paid. She said the company will work with the Spears family to provide any support possible.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to her family and her loved ones," Childs said.

Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams said families were "somewhat in limbo. They're in a ton of uncertainty."

The blast collapsed an exterior wall, smashing cars parked next to the 500,000-square-foot building.

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.

Janelle Lynch, who has worked at the plant for eight years, said she saw flames and ran. She planned to leave through the cutting department, but the roof started to collapse, so she went in the other direction and escaped through a warehouse.

"I saw a fire and things just started exploding," she said.

About 900 people cover four shifts at the plant, one of ConAgra's largest, Jackson said. The ammonia is used to refrigerate meat before it's turned into Slim Jims.

The company, which has 25,000 employees worldwide, makes brands like Chef Boyardee, Hunt's tomato sauce, ACT II popcorn and Hebrew National hot dogs.

The plant was last inspected by the North Carolina Department of Labor for workplace safety last July and no violations were found, department spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry said. The plant had violations in previous years, including a fine in 2007 for problems with eye and face protection equipment.