Photo: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images
Saturday night the second floor of an apartment building in west central Pennsylvania collapsedjust over a mile from the University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, which left 12 people injured.
Trooper First Class Clifford Greenfield, public information officer for the Pennsylvania State Police, detailed that the injuries of those injured after the collapse registered in the Elm by Traverse Commons apartment complex in White TownshipThey ranged from mild to severe.
The twelve injured were treated at the scene and seven were transported to a local hospital for further treatment. In addition, police believe that at least one other injured person went to the hospital in a private car, according to Greenfield.
The complex, located about 66 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, advertises its apartments as off-campus housing for students from the nearby university, though at this time it is not known if any of the injured were students.
Several people were inside the apartment when the flat collapsed, but police don’t know exactly how many. Some escaped through a broken window on the first floor, causing “a lot of injuries,” Greenfield said.
After the victims were treated, members of the Indiana Fire Association searched the building when they arrived and found no one else trapped inside.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.according to Myles Snyder, director of communications for the Pennsylvania State Police.
The apartment management company secured the property after the collapse to prevent re-entry.
Greenfield noted that it’s unclear how many of those involved were college students or visiting guests during what has been dubbed “IUPatty weekend,” a delayed celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
University spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said they will offer help to the affected students.
Chocolate factory explosion
On Friday afternoon there was a huge explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvaniaan incident after which several people are reported dead, some injured and others missing.
The explosion at RM Palmer Company, located at 77 S 2nd Ave near Route 422, was reported before 5 pm and some videos posted on social networks report the incident.
The loud explosion ripped through part of the chocolate factory, sending a plume of smoke into the air and shaking houses a few blocks away. Berks County Firefighters are on the scene.
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