All 7 Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion victims found
All 7 Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion victims found
WEST READING, Pa. -
All seven bodies have been recovered from the site of a powerful explosion at a chocolate factory in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, officials said.
West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a statement Sunday night that none of the victims will be named until officials are certain that all families have been contacted.
"Please understand that this is a devastating loss, but we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days," Kaag said.
Police Chief Wayne Holben said at a press briefing just after 9 p.m. that rescue workers had found the bodies earlier in the evening and that they are believed to be the remaining two individuals who were listed as missing earlier in the day. Their identities will be confirmed by the Berks County Coroner's Office, he said.
One of the victims was found around 6:50 p.m., and the other around 8:20 p.m., Holben said. The deaths bring the total number killed in the blast to seven.
Earlier Kaag confirmed to the Associated Press that the fifth body was found Sunday morning by first responders and confirmed dead by the Berks County Coroner's Office. The coroner was unable to confirm the identity of that person, Kaag said.
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 (96 kilometres) northwest of Philadelphia.
Holben asked for continued prayers from the community 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 had been using heat imaging equipment and dogs to search for possible survivors after the blast destroyed one building and damaged a neighbouring building. Crews were using heavy equipment to methodically and carefully pull debris from the site, Holben said.
Three buildings around the site will be condemned as a precaution, Kaag said.
"This does not mean they are slated for demolition or uninhabitable," she said. "Simply that there will still be work happening around them as we proceed and they will need to be looked at further by structural engineers."
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. 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."
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 others were admitted in good and fair condition respectively and the others had been discharged.
R.M. Palmer said in a statement Saturday afternoon that everyone at the company was "devastated" and it was reaching out to employees and their families through first responders and disaster recovery organizations because its communication systems were down.
Kaag, a volunteer firefighter herself, said rescue crews had been working 12- to 16-hour shifts and were so dedicated to continuing the search that "you have to pull them away at this point" to swap out and get some rest.
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited the site Saturday and vowed support from the state.
Kaag said some residents have reported damage to windows from the blast, and she asked people to "take a walk around your house" and report any damage.
State and local fire investigators are continuing to examine the scene to try to determine the cause of the blast.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside.'
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
More than three years after COVID was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
A year after arguing Nigeria's ruling party is responsible for terrorist acts, the Trudeau government has sent a cabinet minister to celebrate the swearing-in of its new president.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
Statistics Canada says fewer fresh fruits and vegetables were available to Canadians in 2022, due to factors such as ongoing supply chain issues, labour shortages and price increases.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a 21-year-old man from Ottawa in connection with the shooting deaths of two teens from Mississauga in Pembroke, Ont. A third teenager, also from Mississauga, was injured.
A Rhode Island man was due in a Maine courtroom Wednesday after a security scare closed the border crossing between Woodstock, N.B., and Houlton, Maine, earlier this week.
A 72-year-old from Kitchener has been charged with careless driving after a vehicle careened off Highland Road West and smashed through the backyards of three homes on Ralgreen Crescent in Kitchener Tuesday afternoon.
Families of passengers who died in the crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia can seek damages for the pain and terror suffered by victims in the minutes before the plane flew nose-down into the ground, a federal judge has ruled.
He's heir to the throne in one of the oldest monarchies in the Middle East and a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. She's a Saudi architect with an aristocratic pedigree of her own.
Police on Wednesday arrested three Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city's proposed police and fire training centre, striking at the structure that supports the fight against what opponents derisively call "Cop City."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside.'
The federal government is looking at whether to expand security protection to cabinet ministers as more of them express concern for their safety and that of their families.
Statistics Canada says fewer fresh fruits and vegetables were available to Canadians in 2022, due to factors such as ongoing supply chain issues, labour shortages and price increases.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it would remove news content in its home state of California if the state government passed legislation forcing tech companies to pay publishers for journalistic content.
A third man has been charged in the 2002 shooting death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, prosecutors said Tuesday, marking the latest movement in a case that languished for years.
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) said Wednesday venture capital lending dropped in 2022 and is expected to remain slow as companies grapple with higher interest rates, a wave of tech layoffs and the fallout from the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank.
Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent.
Locals call it "watermelon salad." But this delicacy popular in the southern Gaza Strip at this time of year is far from the sweet, refreshing taste the name evokes.
More than three years after COVID was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
A 15-year-old soccer player has died after suffering severe brain injuries during a post-match brawl with an opposing team at an international youth tournament in Germany over the weekend, officials said Wednesday.
French Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said Wednesday that Novak Djokovic's political message about Kosovo was 'not appropriate' and warned the former top-ranked Serb player that he should not do it again.
The U.S. government's auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years.
Ever have a car with a difficult-to-reach seatbelt? This recall is for you. Ford is having to recall 176,000 of its Ford Bronco SUVs, model years 2021 to 2023, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drivers and front seat passengers can have difficulty reaching the metal portion of the belt when it is in the retracted position.
