KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A body was found Wednesday morning in the debris of JJ's restaurant, where fire crews searched for a female server missing after a massive explosion rocked the area just west of Kansas City's Country Club Plaza Tuesday night.

The body was discovered in the bar area in the southwest corner of the building.

In Springfield, Mo., the family of Megan Cramer told The Kansas City Star that it had been contacted by authorities in Kansas City. Cramer, 46, had been a server at JJ's for several months.

The family said confirmation using medical records might take 24 to 48 hours.

Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi said the restaurant was reduced to rubble 3 or 4 feet deep, with debris too heavy for crews to lift manually, requiring heavy equipment for a careful search.

But the fire department is also mindful that, with a winter storm bearing down on Kansas City, it needs to work quickly to try to find anyone who might still be in the building.

"We're working two critical situations," he said. "We have a short window of time to do a lot of work. We'll continue through this process to ensure that there aren't other victims."

He said search and rescue crews and cadaver dogs spent three hours Tuesday night searching the scene.

Ambulances took nine people to area hospitals Tuesday night and six others made their own way to hospitals. Berardi said the injuries included burns, head injuries and abrasions from flying glass.

University of Kansas Hospital said Wednesday afternoon that it had five patients whose conditions ranged from serious to extremely critical. St. Luke's Hospital has one patient, a male in serious condition with trauma injuries and smoke inhalation.

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