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An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania has killed two people and left nine people missing, authorities said.
Several other people were injured in the explosion at the RM Palmer Co. plant, said West Reading Borough Police Department Chief Wayne Holben, who did not confirm the exact number of injuries.
The explosion just before 5 p.m. ET sent black smoke into the air, destroyed one building and damaged neighboring buildings that included apartments.
“It’s pretty flat,” West Reading Borough Mayor Samantha Kaag said of the blast site. “The building in front, with the church and the apartment, the explosion was so big that it moved the building four feet. [1.2 metres] advanced.”
8 people were taken to hospital
The cause of the explosion in the community about 96 kilometers northwest of Philadelphia is under investigation, Holben told reporters.
Eight people were taken to Reading Hospital on Friday afternoon, Health Tower spokeswoman Jessica Bezler said.
Two were acquitted and five were treated and will be released, he said in an email. One patient was transferred to another facility, but Bezler did not provide further details.
Kaag said people were asked to go back about a block in each direction from the scene of the explosion but no evacuations were ordered.
Dean Murray, borough manager of West Reading Borough, said some residents were displaced from the damaged apartment building.
Kagg said the borough officials did not directly contact the officials from RM Palmer, which Murray described as “principal of the borough.”
The company’s website says it has been making “novel chocolates” since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.
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