Two workers performing maintenance work at a Mars/M&M factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, fell into a chocolate tank Thursday.
The workers got stuck in waist-level chocolate and could not get themselves out, requiring emergency personnel to cut a hole on the tank’s side to extricate the duo, The Philly Voice reported.
Emergency personnel then took the men to the hospital following the incident, one of them via helicopter, Lancaster Online reported.
The two men were “not floating around” but were stuck in the chocolate tank, dispatch clarified, according to the outlet. However, rescue personnel had trouble helping the two workers out.
According to medical personnel, the accident could have turned fatal. (RELATED: 10 Injured In Liquid Nitrogen Explosion At Dippin’ Dots Factory)
A photo shows hardened chocolate before the packaging stage at the Ethiquable cooperative chocolate factory in Fleurance, southern France. Image for illustration purposes only. (Photo by VALENTINE CHAPUIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“It could have been a life-threatening situation, just based on what needed to be done to get them out,” Edna Kline, working for the Northwest EMS, told WGAL-TV.
The workers were from the Manheim-based I.K. Stoltzfus Service Corporation, a company that deals with professional industrial cleaning, water tank repair, cleaning & painting, and abrasive and sandblasting services. They were working at the Mars Wrigley facility on contract.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident, a Department of Labor spokesman confirmed, according to the Penn-Live.
“We can confirm both external contractors have been taken offsite for further evaluation. We’re extremely grateful for the quick work of the first responders,” Mars Wrigley said in a statement shared with Penn-Live.
The I.K. Stoltzfus Service Corporation did not respond to Penn-Live’s requests for comment.