The death toll has risen to 7 after 4 additional victims were discovered on Sunday in the rubble of a chocolate factory that exploded Friday in West Reading, Pennsylvania. The blast also left at least a 10 people hospitalized.
Explosion at Pennsylvania chocolate factory
According to authorities, the explosion leveled building 2 of the facility, as well as caused damage to building 1, Fox 29 reported. According to investigators, the building where the blast occurred was not only leveled, but the force of the explosion moved the building four feet forward.
West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag also said the blast “leveled” the plant. Investigators are reportedly still working to determine what triggered the explosion, although “in the initial incident report from Berks County to PEMA, a reference to a gas leak was included,” Ruth Miller, PEMA’s communications director, said in a statement.
R.M. Palmer makes seasonal chocolates for occasions like Easter, Christmas, and Halloween. The factory in West Reading has been located there since the early 1960s and employs about 850 workers, according to its website.
Rescue dogs find living survivor
The Pennsylvania State urban search and rescue task force sent a team of structural engineers and K-9s on Friday night, as well as additional personnel who arrived on Saturday.
Rescuers began furious efforts to locate survivors among the rubble.
On Saturday, officials declared there was “a sign of hope” after a woman was found alive after being discovered by a rescue dog. The woman then called to rescue workers, and she was pulled from debris on the lower floor of the building.
Over the weekend, officials continued the recovery effort, calling it a “long, long process” of crews carefully removing debris to search for remaining missing people.
“We will not rest until every single person affected by this tragedy has been accounted for,” West Reading Borough Police Chief Wayne Holben said. “We are fully committed to this task, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that we bring closure to all those involved.”
Additional bodies found; death count rises to 7
On Sunday night, rescuers recovered two additional bodies from the rubble, pronounced dead at the scene, raising the death toll to seven, ABC News reported.
Officials said on Sunday night that all previously missing victims had been accounted for, Yahoo! News reported.
As of Saturday afternoon, Reading Hospital said it had received 10 patients, of which two were transferred to other local hospitals, NBC Philadelphia reported. According to the latest reports, six have been discharged.
