Five killed and six missing after huge explosion tears through chocolate factory
Five people have been killed and six are still missing after an explosion tore through a chocolate factory.
An explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in Pennsylvania, US, happened just before 5pm on Friday after a huge plume of black smoke destroyed one building and damaged a neighbouring building that included flats.
Several other people were injured by the explosion, according to West Reading Borough Police Department Chief of Police Wayne Holben.
He did not confirm how many were injured from the explosion.
West Reading Borough Mayor Samantha Kaag revealed the explosion was so big it moved the apartment building four feet forward.
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Emergency services were called to the scene as the fire spread (Facebook/Renee Rivera)
The explosion at the chocolate factory killed two people and left nine missing (Facebook/Renee Rivera)She said: “It’s pretty levelled. The building in the front, with the church and the apartments, the explosion was so big that it moved that building four feet forward.”
The cause of the blast in the community, which is about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is under investigation, Mr Holden said.
Liz Soto, who was near the explosion, told Fox she heard "a loud noise, like a roaring sound, then the house shook."
She hasn't heard back from a friend, who works inside the factory, after she was reported missing.
Liz said: "She went to work, she's confirmed to have gone to work, but we don't know anything about her."
The fire destroyed one building and damaged a neighbouring building that included flats (Facebook/Renee Rivera)The explosion at the chocolate factory killed two people and left nine missing (Facebook/Renee Rivera)Eight people were taken to Reading Hospital on Friday evening, Tower Health spokeswoman Jessica Bezler said.
Two people were admitted in fair condition and five were being treated and would be released.
The R.M. Palmer Co. plant has been making “chocolate novelties” since 1948 (Google Earth)One patient was transferred to another facility, but Ms Bezler provided no further details.
Ms Kaag said people were asked to move back about a block in each direction from the site of the explosion but no evacuations were ordered.
Dean Murray, the borough manager of West Reading Borough, said some residents were displaced from the damaged apartment building.
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Several other people were injured by the explosion at the chocolate factory (Facebook/Renee Rivera)Ms Kagg said borough officials were not in immediate contact with officials from R.M. Palmer, which Mr Murray described as “a staple of the borough.”
The company’s website says it has been making “chocolate novelties” since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.
The fire at the chocolate factory comes after two workers fell into a vat of melted Galaxy chocolate in Pennsylvania.
The workers, who who were contractors and not full-time employees, had to be rescued after falling into a mixing tank where Galaxy chocolate was being made.
Firefighter's were called to the scene and cut a hole in the partly-full tank to get the workers out.
One contractor was taken to hospital by helicopter.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has since fined the factory in the city of Elizabethtown more than $14,500 (£12,000) for the June 2022 incident.
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