1 Pulled From Rubble, 5 Missing After PA Chocolate Factory Explosion That Killed 2

WEST READING, PA — At least two people are dead and five others remain unaccounted for after an explosion rocked a chocolate factory in West Reading on Friday, trapping several people inside, officials said.

One person was pulled alive from the rubble, which officials said was a silver lining in the deadly explosion.

The explosion at R.M. Palmer Company, located at 77 South 2nd Ave near Route 422, was reported before 5 p.m. Friday, 6ABC reported.

Officials said during a Saturday news conference that a previous report by Pennsylvania's Emergency Management Agency that the death toll reached five was "not accurate."

A spokeswoman for Reading Hospital told NBC News that eight people were brought to the facility, one of whom was transferred. The spokeswoman added that two were in fair condition and the others were released.

Chief of Police Wayne Holben said during the Saturday news conference that the rescue of one person from the rubble “provides hope that others still may be found.”

Rescuers are using "specialized equipment and techniques" to look for signs of life during the careful removal of debris, officials said.

West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag told reporters the factory was "pretty leveled" and that "there's not too much to be able to kind of salvage from it," NBC News reported.

Philip Wert, vice president of the West Reading council, said during the news conference that the building had been constructed in the late 1950s or early 1960s, 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 company’s website says it has been making “chocolate novelties” since 1948 and now has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.

Patch has reached out to West Reading Police Department for more information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.