2018-12-12T005304Z_660525391_RC12772D6070_RTRMADP_3_GERMANY-CHOCOLATE-SPILL-(Read-Only)
Spilt chocolate is seen on a road in Werl, Germany December 10, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Image Credit: Reuters

Berlin: A town in western Germany briefly became a scene that could have dreamed up by fans of fictional candy maker Willy Wonka when a ton of chocolate flowed out of a factory and solidified on the street

The German newspaper Soester Anzeiger reported Tuesday that a "small technical defect" involving a storage tank caused the sweet and sticky spill from the DreiMeister chocolate factory in Westoennen.

GERMANY-CHOCOLATE-SPILL-(Read-Only)
Spilt chocolate is cleared from a road in Werl, Germany December 10, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Image Credit: Reuters

After hitting the chilly pavement, the milk chocolate quickly hardened. About 25 firefighters got the job of prying the coating off with shovels and using hot water and torches to remove remaining bits from cracks and holes.

Company boss Markus Luckey told the Anzeiger the factory would be back in action on Wednesday. Luckey said if the spill had happened closer to Christmas, "that would have been a catastrophe."