Two people rescued after falling in tank full of chocolate at Mars M&M factory

In something that sounds straight out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," two people fell into a vat of chocolate at a Pennsylvania Mars M&M's factory on Thursday. According to TODAY, two workers at a Mars Wrigley factory located in the Elizabethtown borough of Lancaster County were rescued by the local fire department and were transported to local hospitals. While details regarding how the two workers ended up in the chocolate tank are unknown, a Lancaster County 911 spokesperson confirmed to reporters that the department received a phone call about the incident around 10:51 a.m. ET.

"The incident currently is being downgraded, but originally two employees were stuck in a sort of dry chocolate," the spokesperson said. They added that the Lancaster Bureau of Police had not been notified of any injuries sustained in relation to the incident and explained that the workers were likely transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. "One patient was transported by ground and one person was transported by helicopter," Assistant Supervisor Nick Schoenberger of Lancaster County 911 Dispatch told CNN.

Brad Wolfe, a communications supervisor for Lancaster County 911 dispatch, provided a few updates while the Elizabethtown Fire Department was still in the process of rescuing the workers. "Fire crews have eliminated pulling them straight out of a tank," he revealed earlier on Thursday. "They have to cut a hole in the side of the tank to get them out." Meanwhile, PennLive.com reported that two people fell into waist-deep chocolate in a tank at around 1:51 p.m. and were unable to get out of the vat on their own. According to Lancaster Online, more than two dozen emergency personnel were reportedly dispatched to the scene shortly before 2 p.m.

According to a report by The Hill, a Lancaster County 911 supervisor stated that the first victim was extricated from the tank at 3:10 p.m. and the second was out by 3:25 p.m. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is now investigating the incident and will look into what actually went down at the factory yesterday. Addressing the accident in a statement provided to the press, a Mars Wrigley spokesperson said: "We can confirm both people have been taken offsite for further evaluation. We're extremely grateful for the quick work of first responders." When the New York Post attempted to get in touch with someone at the Brown Street factory to ask them about the incident, the man who answered the phone reportedly said "I don't know anything" before abruptly hanging up.

As news of the accident spread across social media, people unsurprisingly responded with a flurry of Augustus Gloop jokes. For those who need a refresher of the 1964 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" novel by Roald Dahl, Augustus Gloop was the first of the five winners of the Golden Tickets. Portrayed as a gluttonous kid from the city of Düsseldorf in Germany, Gloop falls into the chocolate river and is sucked up into a pipe. The Oompa Loompas eventually fish him out of the chocolate in the Fudge Room and he leaves the factory covered in chocolate.

Mars Incorporated is an American, family-owned, multinational confectionery and pet food manufacturer. The company has 22 manufacturing facilities in the United States, including the one in Elizabethtown where the accident occurred. It is best known for sweets such as M&M's, Snickers and Twix.