A powerful explosion at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory known for making chocolate Easter bunnies killed a total of seven people, authorities said, as emergency workers retrieved the last of the bodies.
The deadly blast obliterated the facility about 100km northwest of Philadelphia a little more than two weeks before Easter. The cause of the explosion remained under investigation on Saturday morning, but officials said they believed it might have resulted from a gas leak, WPVI reported.
Video posted on social media showed how the RM Palmer Co building in West Reading, Pennsylvania, exploded at about 5pm on Friday.
Photo: AP / Reading Eagle
Early on Saturday, rescuers found a factory worker who had survived, but was trapped, the Reading Eagle newspaper said. West Reading Police Chief Wayne Holben, initially expressed hope of finding more survivors.
Rescue crews were using heavy equipment to pull away debris while scanning the site with thermal imaging equipment and using sniffer dogs.
West Reading Fire Chief Chad Moyer on Saturday night said that the chance of finding survivors was “decreasing rapidly,” while West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag called it “a hold out for hope” to get answers for people.
On Sunday though, more bodies were steadily being recovered.
“Please understand that this is a devastating loss, but we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days,” she said.
A number were injured in the blast as well. Reading hospital said it received 10 patients and transferred two to other facilities, while two others were admitted in good and fair condition respectively and the others had been discharged.
The history of chocolate factories is littered with disasters. Some explosions have occurred when combustible starch dust used for shaping candies and bonbon centers has ignited.
Last month, the confectionary company Mars Wrigley was fined more than US$14,500 over a mishap in June last year at its M&M/Mars plant in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate.
Emergency responders were able to free the pair by cutting a hole in the bottom of the tank, reports said.
According to RM Palmer’s Web site, the company has specialized in Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas and Halloween chocolates since it was founded in 1948.
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