Seven killed in blast at Pennsylvania chocolate factory

A bomb at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory - known for making chocolate Easter bunnies killed a total of seven people, authorities said, as emergency workers retrieved the bodies.

The blast obliterated the facility 60 miles north-west of Philadelphia a little more than two weeks before Easter. The cause of the explosion remained under investigation on Saturday morning, but officials said they believed it may have resulted from a gas leak, WPVI reported.

The video posted on social media showed the RM Palmer CompanyRM Palmer Company building in West Reading, Pennsylvania, exploded about 5 pm on Friday.

Early on Saturday, rescuers found a factory worker who had survived but was trapped, according to the Reading Eagle newspaper. West Reading police chief Wayne Holben initially expressed hope of finding more survivors.

Rescue crews were using heavy equipment to pull away debris while scanning the site with thermal imaging equipment and sniffer dogs. The borough fire chief, Chad Moyer, said on Saturday night that the chance of finding survivors was decreasing rapidly, but the local mayor, Samantha Kaag, called it a hold out for hope to get answers for people.

More bodies were being recovered steadily on Sunday.

Samantha Kaag, West Reading Mayor, said: Please understand that this is a devastating loss, but we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days. A number of people were injured in the blast. Reading hospital said it received 10 patients and transferred two to other facilities, while two others were admitted in good and fair condition and the others were discharged.

The history of chocolate factories is littered with disasters. Combustible starch dust used for shaping candies and bonbon centers has ignited a series of explosions.

In June, the confectionary company Mars Wrigley was fined more than $14,500 over a mishap at its M&M Mars plant in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate.

Emergency responders were able to free the pair by cutting a hole in the bottom of the tank, according to reports.

Since its establishment in 1948, the company has specialized in Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas and Halloween chocolates, according to RM Palmer's website. What began as one man s dream has turned into a collection of holiday novels loved by millions of people, making it one of America's largest and most innovative confectioners the website says.

Kaag said three buildings around the site were being condemned as a precaution.

This does not mean that they are slated for demolition or uninhabitable. There will still be work happening around them as we proceed and they will need to be looked at further by structural engineers.