Pennsylvania Chocolate Plant Blast Kills 2, Leaves 9 Missing

March 25, 2023 4:16 am

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania Friday killed two people and left nine people missing. West Reading Borough Police Department Chief of Police Wayne Holben says several other people were injured by the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The explosion just before 5 p.m. sent a plume of black smoke into the air, destroying one building at the facility and damaging a neighboring building with apartments. Holden says the cause of the explosion remains under investigation. A spokesperson says eight people were taken to Reading Hospital Friday evening.