Pennsylvania chocolate plant blast kills 2, leaves 9 missing
West Reading (US) (AP): An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania Friday killed two people and left nine people missing, authorities said.
Several other people were injured by the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant, said West Reading Borough Police Department Chief of Police Wayne Holben, who did not confirm the exact number of injured.
The explosion just before 5 pm sent a plume of black smoke into the air, destroying one building and damaging a neighbouring building that included apartments.
"It's pretty levelled," West Reading Borough Mayor Samantha Kaag said of the explosion site. "The building in the front, with the church and the apartments, the explosion was so big that it moved that building four feet forward."
The cause of the blast in the community about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia was under investigation, Holden told reporters.
Eight people were taken to Reading Hospital Friday evening, Tower Health spokeswoman Jessica Bezler said.
Two people were admitted in fair condition and five were being treated and would be released, she said in an email. One patient was transferred to another facility, but Bezler provided no further details.
Kaag said people were asked to move back about a block in each direction from the site of the explosion but no evacuations were ordered.
Dean Murray, the borough manager of West Reading Borough, said some residents were displaced from the damaged apartment building.
Kagg said borough officials were not in immediate contact with officials from R.M. Palmer, which Murray described as "a staple of the borough."
The company's website says it has been making "chocolate novelties" since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.
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Hathras school director, teachers arrested for alleged 'human sacrifice' of class 2 student
Hathras: A Class 2 student was allegedly killed as part of a black magic ritual inside his school hostel in Hathras. The police have arrested five people, including the director and three teachers of D L Public School, Rasgawan, for their alleged involvement in the crime.
The deceased boy, whose body was found in the school director's car, is believed to have been ‘sacrificed’ for the school's purported success and glory, according to the police. The suspects in custody are school director Dinesh Baghel, his father Jashodhan Singh, and teachers Laxman Singh, Veerpal Singh, and Ramprakash Solanki.
Hathras Superintendent of Police Nipun Agarwal stated, "The child was killed as part of a ritual for the institution's success. We are investigating whether any additional individuals were involved in the incident."
Police reports suggest that the director's father, Jashodhan, practiced black magic and rituals. In the past, he had allegedly attempted to kill another child in a similar manner but failed.
The deceased was the son of Krishan Kushwaha, a software engineer based in Delhi. The school hostel, which houses around 600 students from Classes 1 to 5, became the scene of the tragic crime earlier this week.
On Monday morning, the boy was found unresponsive in his hostel bed by staff and other students. Instead of reporting the matter, Baghel reportedly attempted to cover up the crime by placing the child’s body in his car and driving to Agra and Aligarh for several hours. The boy's family, upon being informed that their child was “unwell,” reached the school but could not locate him.
Suspecting foul play, Kushwaha informed the local police, which led to a manhunt for Baghel. The boy’s body, bearing strangulation marks, was eventually found in Baghel’s vehicle after the family raised an alarm. An autopsy confirmed that the child had been strangled on Sunday night.
A case of murder under relevant sections has been registered against the accused, and further investigation is underway.
