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In this screen grab from video provided by WPVI-TV/6ABC, smoke rises from the explosion at the RM Palmer factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP
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WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP
In this screen grab from video provided by WPVI-TV/6ABC, smoke rises from the explosion at the RM Palmer factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP
WEST READING, Pennsylvania — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left nine missing, officials said.
Several other people were injured in the explosion at the RM Palmer Co. factory, said West Reading Borough Police Chief Wayne Holben, who did not confirm the exact number of injuries.
The explosion just before 5pm sent black smoke into the air, destroyed one building and damaged nearby buildings, including an apartment building.
West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said the blast site was “pretty leveled out”. She said, “At the building in front of the church and apartments, the explosion was so loud that the building was moved four feet forward.”
Holden told reporters the cause of the explosion in a community about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia is under investigation.
Eight people were taken to Reading Hospital on Friday night, according to Tower Health spokeswoman Jessica Bezler.
In an email, she said two were hospitalized in good condition and five were being treated and released. One patient was transferred to another facility, but Bezler did not provide further details.
Kaag said people were asked to move back about one block in each direction from the blast site, but no evacuation was ordered.
West Reading Borough Administrator Dean Murray said some residents had been evacuated from the damaged apartments.
Kagg said borough officials had not been in direct contact with officials at RM Palmer, who Murray described as a “borough staple.”
The company’s website says it has been making “chocolate novelties” since 1948 and currently employs 850 people at its West Reading headquarters.
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