01 April 2023 , 13:45
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A woman pulled alive from the aftermath of a Pennsylvania factory explosion which killed seven co-workers survived after falling into a vat of liquid chocolate.
Flames had engulfed the RM Palmer Co factory in West Reading and Patricia Borges’ arm when the floor collapsed, sending her into the chocolate and extinguishing the flames.
The 50-year-old, who broke her collarbone and both of her heels in the fall, was rescued from the rubble nine hours later.
“When I began to burn, I thought it was the end for me,” she said from her hospital bed.
“I asked God why he was giving me such a horrible death. I asked him to save me, that I didn’t want to die in the fire.”
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Fire crews outside the chocolate factory in Pennsylvania (fox43)A cause of the explosion – which injured 10 others – has not been determined, but the Federal Transportation Safety Agency has characterised it as a natural gas explosion.
She said workers had complained about a gas odour about 30 minutes before the explosion and is angry the factory was not evacuated.
Last week, West Reading Borough Mayor Samantha Kaag revealed the explosion was so big it moved the apartment building four feet forward.
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 is still under investigation (fox43)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 last week 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."
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.
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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.
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.