US chocolate factory explosion leaves 2 dead, 9 missing

The explosion at around 5pm destroyed one building and damaged another at the RM Palmer Co chocolate factory in West Reading. PHOTO: REUTERS

READING, Pennsylvania – Two people were killed and nine others were missing after a powerful explosion ripped through a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and shaking houses blocks away, officials said.

The explosion at around 5pm local time (5am on Saturday in Singapore) destroyed one building and damaged another at the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading, about 96.5km north-west of Philadelphia, police chief Wayne Holben said at a news conference.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation, he said.

Reading Hospital received eight patients, said spokesman Jessica Bezler. She said one of the patients had been transferred, two had been admitted in fair condition and the others would be discharged.

The explosion sent a column of debris, flames and dust shooting into the air, as shown in a video captured by weather cameras and shared on Twitter by a reporter for Fox 29 News in Philadelphia.

“The explosion was so big that it moved that building four feet (1.2m) forward,” West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag, who is also a firefighter, said at the news conference after she responded to the scene. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great scene to come into. It was pretty scary.”

Mr Holben said there was no danger to the surrounding area but added that authorities were urging people to avoid the scene. He said a command centre had been set up to coordinate the local and state agencies responding to the explosion.

R.M. Palmer, founded in 1948, employs 850 people, according to its website, and is known for making seasonal chocolates, including hollow milk chocolate bunnies for Easter.

West Reading borough manager Dean Murray called the company “a staple of the borough”.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody involved,” he said.

In an interview, Ms Kaag said she had felt the explosion at her house, four or five blocks from the factory.

“I didn’t hear a boom,” she said. “I just felt it shake my house.” NYTIMES

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