Woman reveals she fell into a vat of CHOCOLATE in a Pennsylvania explosion that saved her life
A woman who was pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven colleagues would have died had she not fallen into a vat of liquid chocolate, she said.
Patricia Borges, 50, Borges recalled smelling gas at the RM Palmer factory just before the flames ignited around the building, and her arm, before the floor finally collapsed under her, sending her straight into a barrel on March 24.
The dark liquid extinguished her burning arm and the fall led Borges to break her collarbone and both heels.
She would scream for help and wait for rescue for the next nine hours as firefighters battled the inferno and helicopters pounded over the factory.
Patricia Borges, 50, survived the horrific explosion at the RM Palmer factory on March 24 that killed seven of her colleagues shortly after they complained of smelly petrol
Borges worked in the chocolate factory as an operator of a candy wrapping machine. But on the day of the blast, she helped clean up in preparation for a product changeover.
The machine worker said she and others had complained of a smell of gas about 30 minutes before the two-story brick factory exploded before 5 p.m.
The strong smell made her feel sick, and Borges and other employees approached their supervisor and asked “what would happen if we were evacuated,” she recalls.
Borges said the supervisor noted that someone higher up should make that decision. So she went back to work.
She is upset that Palmer was not evacuated immediately and remembers being thrown to the ground.
Speaking in Spanish on a video conference, her eyes bruised and her burned right arm heavily bandaged, Borges recounted her terrifying touch with death.
“When I started burning, I thought it was the end for me,” Borges told The Associated Press from her hospital bed in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
Borges heard screams and saw fire everywhere.
“I asked God why he gave me such a horrible death,” she said. “I asked him to save me, that I did not want to die in the fire.”
Borges worked in the chocolate factory as an operator of a candy wrapping machine. But on the day of the blast, she helped clean up in preparation for a product changeover. In the photo: Borges before the explosion
Borges was trapped in the barrel for nine hours, screaming for help and waiting for rescuers
Bodies were found under rubble at the RM Palmer factory in the West Reading area. Rescue crews use thermal imaging equipment and dogs
Borges said that if it weren’t for the chocolate barrel (above), she probably wouldn’t have survived
The rubble was cleared from the site of the deadly explosion at the chocolate factory in March
She started to run. At that moment the floor gave way and she felt herself fall – into a long, horizontal tank of chocolate in the basement of the factory.
Standing four feet tall, Borges landed on her feet in chest-high liquid.
The chocolate put out the flames, but she believes her fall broke her feet.
The barrel began to fill with water from firefighters’ hoses, eventually forcing Borges to climb out when it reached neck height.
She sat on the edge of the tank and then jumped into a pool of water that had formed in the basement. Briefly submerged, Borges said she swallowed a gulp of water before surfacing.
Borges grabbed hold of a plastic tube. And then she waited.
“Help, help, please help!” she screamed, over and over, for hours. Nobody came.
The pain intensified. The water was ice cold. The main supply line for the building’s fire suppression system had ruptured and water was pouring into the basement. She lost track of time, but thought she might be there for days.
“All I wanted was to get out of there,” she said.
Finally, in the middle of the night, she saw a light and screamed for help again.
Search and rescue dogs had warned their handlers that a survivor might be in the rubble. As rescuers carefully made their way to the basement, they heard Borges’ screams.
The rescuers called for silence and followed the sound of her voice. They found her in a tight space, in chest-deep water. She went to them and was placed in a nest.
Borges lost her close friend on the day of the blast, Judith Lopez-Moran, 55 (above)
Judith Lopez-Moran, 55, and Susan Halvonik, 63, also died in the horrific blast
Several workers complained about the smell of gasoline before the factory exploded. Pictured: Amy Sandoe, 49, and Michael Breedy, 62, who also died
Borges believes her colleagues would still be alive if they had all evacuated properly. Pictured: Domingo Cruz, 60, and Xiorky Nunez, 30, who also died
“She was severely hypothermic and beaten up,” conscious but “absolutely confused,” said Ken Pagurek, who, as a program manager for Pennsylvania Task Force 1, helped lead rescue efforts, an emergency response team deployed to disaster sites across the country. country.
“I think if they hadn’t reached her when they did, there was a very good chance the casualty count would be plus one,” said Pagurek, also a captain with the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Her rescue gave hope to first responders who had already pulled two bodies from the rubble in the hours after the blast. Rescuers stayed with the pile for another two days. They found five more bodies, but no additional survivors.
Authorities identified the dead as Xiorky D. Nunez, 30, Diana M. Cedeno, 44, Amy S. Sandoe, 49, Judith Lopez-Moran, 55, Domingo Cruz, 60, Michael D. Breedy, 62, and Susan H. Halvonick, 63.
Borges now faces surgery on both feet and a long recovery. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her pay the bills.
Borges, who came to the United States from the state of Puebla in south-central Mexico 31 years ago, has been with Palmer for four years. She said she’s looking for accountability.
The factory worker lost her good friend, Judith Lopez-Moran, on the day of the blast. She said her colleagues’ deaths could have been prevented.
“I wanted to speak so that this is prevented in the future,” she said. “I want justice for my colleague Judy.”
Federal, state and local investigations are underway. A cause has not been determined, but the Federal Agency for Transportation Safety has characterized it as a natural gas explosion.