Two people are dead and nine are missing in an explosion that destroyed a chocolate factory in West Reading in the US state of Pennsylvania.

According to local media reports there are also eight injured, many of whom have been discharged from hospitals after treatment.

At the moment the cause of the explosion, which shook the entire town, inside the RM Palmer Company remains to be clarified.

The building - rescuers said - was moved a few meters due to the power released by the explosion. The surrounding area, on the other hand, remained accessible.

The company, founded in 1948, employs around 850 people and in this period works at full capacity for the production of Easter cakes.

(Unioneonline/lf)

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