The old "Reddish Brown" as of three or more years ago is know to be brittle. LEGO has changed to formula since which apparently fixed that.

Apart from your problem of getting the remains out, just contact LEGO support for free replacement parts, as this is a known and accepted issue. Keep the parts, though, if you ask for a larger number of parts, they might want the broken pieces back as proof (theoretically, I have nor heard of such a case personally).