ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCN) — Officials confirmed late Sunday afternoon that a man who was working at QVC early Saturday when a massive blaze broke out was dead after officials earlier Sunday said a body was discovered following the massive fire Saturday at the company’s distribution center near Rocky Mount in Edgecombe County.

The Rocky Mount Fire Department says they received reports about the fire just after 2 a.m. Saturday.
About 300 employees were working in the building at the time.

QVC officials said Saturday that all workers got out of the building. But, a family later said Saturday that a relative who they knew was working during the shift had not contacted them.

Kevon Ricks, 21, who worked at QVC, was missing after the fire and was the person found dead, his aunt told CBS 17 reporter Brea Hollingsworth. 

Sunday during a very short news conference, officials only said that a body was found in the heavily damaged building. Officials did not provide any update about the status of the fire or any investigation.

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed the person who died in the fire was Ricks. His body was discovered around 11:30 a.m. Sunday on the outbound side of the loading dock of QVC, deputies said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Ricks as well as all team members affected by this tragedy,” Edgecombe County deputies said in a statement.

For more than 20 hours, dozens of crews including the North Carolina Forest Service, worked both in the air and on the ground to put out the fire.

The Rocky Mount Fire Department estimated about 75 percent of one building was damaged. There were no other injuries in the fire.

By 3 p.m. Saturday crews from six counties and 45 different agencies were involved in firefighting efforts.

The 1.2 million square foot facility is the largest building in Edgecombe County.