Fourth person found dead in chocolate factory blast; 3 missing
A fourth person was confirmed dead and three people remained unaccounted for Sunday, two days after a powerful explosion at a chocolate factory shook a small town in Pennsylvania.
West Reading Borough Chief of Police Wayne Holben confirmed the body of a fourth victim was found under debris early Sunday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in the borough of West Reading, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Holben asked for continued prayers and vowed that rescuers and officials “will not rest until every single person affected by this tragedy has been accounted for” from the blast that occurred just before 5 p.m. Friday.
Rescue crews have been using heat imaging equipment and dogs to search for possible survivors after the blast destroyed one building and damaged a neighboring building. Crews were using heavy equipment to carefully pull debris from the site, Holben said.
Borough Fire Chief Chad Moyer said Saturday night that the chance of finding survivors was “decreasing rapidly” due to the explosion’s force and the amount of time that had passed. Mayor Samantha Kaag said officials were “still hopeful to at least get some answers and get some recoveries so that people have that reassurance and that closure.”
“We’re just trying to hold out as much hope as we can to get the right answers, to get quality answers, to get information to those that are affected and then let it go over to the investigation,” Kaag said.
Officials said they had no update on the condition of a woman pulled alive from the rubble early Saturday. Kaag said she had apparently been on the second floor and was found in a “hopeful circumstance,” calling out to rescuers despite her injuries after a dog located her.
Officials also reported no updates on the conditions of those taken to hospitals. Reading Hospital said it received 10 patients and transferred two to other facilities, while two more were admitted in good and fair condition and the others had been discharged.