Investigators looking for the cause of a deadly explosion that leveled part of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory faced an even more difficult task Monday as they combed through wreckage that was extensively picked apart and moved around during the intensive weekend search for victims and survivors.
Seven people were killed and several others wounded in the powerful blast at the R.M Palmer Co. plant in West Reading, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia. One survivor was pulled from the rubble hours after the powerful explosion rattled windows and shook houses.
With the recovery effort now over, attention turned to identifying the cause — a task complicated by the jumbled wreckage.
“The No. 1 goal of this, once the fire was out, gas stopped, is to look for the victims,” Pennsylvania State Police Master Trooper David Beohm said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “So with that, when they picked the building apart with the excavator, yes, it makes it really hard then to try to figure out things. … It makes it really difficult to try to come up with a cause.”
Authorities declined to address reports that plant workers had detected an odor of gas before the explosion. The gas utility UGI said it had received no reports of a gas leak at the family-owned candy company.
“Everything’s on the table at this point because we’re still not done with the investigation. To say it’s one way or another, I would not say that at this point,” Beohm said. He said two state police fire marshals are working to determine the cause and origin of the blast.
The Berks County coroner’s office identified two of the victims as 49-year-old Amy Sandoe of Ephrata and 60-year-old Domingo Cruz of Reading and said “additional forensic medical examinations” would be needed to positively identify the other five victims. Autopsies were expected to be completed by the end of week, officials said.
Rescue crews had been using heat-imaging equipment and dogs to search for possible survivors after the blast destroyed one building and damaged a neighboring building. Crews were using heavy equipment to methodically and carefully pull debris from the site, police Chief Wayne Holben said earlier.
Three buildings around the site were condemned as a precaution until further examination by structural engineers to ensure their safety.
Officials said they had no update on the condition of a woman pulled alive from the rubble early Saturday. Mayor Samantha Kaag has 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 found her.
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. Dr. Charles Barbera, the hospital’s president and CEO, said one of the admitted patients was discharged Monday.
R.M. Palmer said in a weekend statement 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. The company has not commented further. It did not respond to questions from The Associated Press on Monday
The governor of Pennsylvania, meanwhile, ordered commonwealth flags flown at half-staff in honor of the seven people whose bodies were recovered.
“West Reading, we stand with you — and we’ll continue to provide all of the support your community needs,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a Twitter post Monday.