Three more people found dead in the US chocolate factory explosion.

Four people are still missing after an explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania, the US, according to local authorities, and the death toll has risen to three. Rescuers are frantically searching for survivors as the death toll continues to rise.

After the explosion at the RM Palmer Company plant in Pennsylvania’s West Reading borough on Friday afternoon, workers were still clearing wreckage and rubble.

However according to West Reading Fire Chief Chad Mayor, “the possibility of finding survivors is reducing significantly owing to the magnitude of the explosion and the amount of time that has gone.”

Television video showed firefighters attempting to put out a fire that had started in the explosion’s aftermath.

“The factory is pretty levelled, unfortunately. There’s not much they can salvage from the building,” West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a televised press conference shortly after the blast.

“In the front, with the church and the apartments, the explosion was so big it moved that building four feet forward,” she stressed.

At the news conference on Saturday, West Reading Chief of Police Wayne Holben informed the media that “a third body was recovered at the RM Palmer site and has been confirmed deceased.”

“Crews are continuing their diligent efforts in sifting through the debris in order to locate any additional individuals,” Holben said.

Fire Chief Mayor added that “currently we have four individuals that are unaccounted for.”

Authorities stated that they were still looking into what caused the explosion.

On their website, RM Palmer claims to have been making holiday chocolate confections since 1948, including Easter bunnies and Valentine’s Day candies in the shape of hearts.