Just before 5 p.m. on Friday, a blast shook RM Palmer's chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania. As of Monday morning, seven people have died and one was pulled from the wreckage. Eight others were taken to Reading Hospital with injuries as of Friday evening, says Tower Health spokeswoman Jessica Bezler, via email to The Associated Press.
The woman who was pulled alive from the wreckage was found overnight Friday into Saturday. She was injured but conscious.
Of the eight admitted to the hospital, two people were admitted in fair condition and five others were treated and released.
As of Monday morning, two of the seven victims' names have been released, according to WFMZ.com. The Berks County coroner said that Amy Sandoe, 49, of Ephrata, PA and Domingo Cruz, 60, of Reading, were among the seven who perished. The other five are still waiting to be identified by the coroner.
"We are still awaiting for the coroner to confirm the remaining individuals identities, but we do believe them to be the remaining presumptive missing individuals," said Chief Wayne Holben, West Reading police.
The coroner said forensic examinations will be needed to identify the other five victims. Autopsies should be completed by the end of the week, he said.
West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag released a statement yesterday that said all victims have been discovered.
"Tonight we were able to announce that all seven presumptive missing have been found—please understand that this is still a devastating loss," she wrote. "But we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days."
RM Palmer building 2 was leveled during the explosion, and building 1 was damaged. The cause of the explosion is still unknown, but there had been complaints of a gas smell at the factory, reports WGAL and The Associated Press.
Mayor Kaag also said that multiple buildings around the explosion site will be condemned while officials investigate the cause of the explosion and how to prevent similar incidents in the future.
"This does not mean they are slated for demolition or uninhabitable—simply that there will still be work happening around them as we proceed and will need to be looked at further by structural engineers before being released," the mayor's statement said.
"It's pretty leveled," Kaag said of the building. "The building in the front, with the church and the apartments, the explosion was so big that it moved that building four feet forward."
Kaag also said the community will hold a candlelight vigil for the victims this Friday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Philip Wert, vice president of the West Reading Borough Council, said the leveled building was constructed in the late 1950's or early 1960's, per WFMZ.com, and officials had to "access our archive to pull the blueprints last night, in order to get a better layout of the building and the mechanicals and the utilities, where things are."
The Berks County Community Foundation has set up a West Reading Disaster Recovery Fund here, for those who wish to contribute.
On Saturday, RM Palmer released a statement on its website and Facebook page, which read:
"Everyone at RM Palmer is devastated by the tragic events at one of our West Reading facilities and we are focused on supporting our employees and their families. We have lost close friends and colleagues, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all who have been impacted. We are sincerely grateful for the extraordinary efforts of all of the first responders and for the support of our Reading community, which has been home to our business for more than 70 years. We will continue to coordinate closely with local and national agencies to assist in the recovery process.
We are anxious to be in touch with all employees and the families of employees who have been impacted, but the company's email, phones, and other communication systems are down, and therefore we are relying currently on first responders and disaster recovery organizations to provide any available information to impacted families. We will be providing additional information and making contact with employees, impacted families, and the community as soon as possible."
RM Palmer is a family-owned business based in West Reading, PA, and has been crafting seasonal chocolate novelties since 1948. It is best known for its hollow chocolate bunnies. Today, it employs 850 personnel and makes over 500 products.
Sources: Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion kills seven after two more bodies found and Explosion at R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in Pennsylvania leaves 2 dead, others missing and injured via Fox News; Person pulled alive from RM Palmer rubble in West Reading via WFMZ.com.