Explosion at Tennessee Plant Leaves 19 People Missing and Feared Dead: Sheriff

A blast at a facility in Tennessee that makes explosives on Oct. 10 has left 19 people missing and feared dead, authorities said.

The blast, which took place around 7:45 a.m., encompassed an entire building at Accurate Energetic Systems in Bucksnort.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said it was one of the most devastating scenes he’s ever seen. He did not specify how many people were killed but referred to the 19 missing as “souls” and said officials were still speaking to their relatives.

“We do have some folks we can confirm … that are deceased,” he said earlier Friday.

Aerial footage showed charred rubble, including multiple vehicles that were destroyed. Davis called it “a very violent scene.”

It’s not clear yet what caused the explosion.

Accurate Energetic Systems did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said. He didn’t have any additional details.

“This is a tragedy for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford said in an email.

Officials with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were among those responding to the scene.

The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

The blast could be heard from at least 21 miles away, according to area residents.

Accurate Energetic Systems, according to its website, develops, manufactures, and stores “a diverse array of energetic products and explosives for military, aerospace, and commercial demolition markets.” The company says it has eight specialized production buildings and a laboratory on 1,300 acres in Bucksnort.

“Our manufacturing facilities are designed with environmental control systems to ensure optimal conditions for the production of high-quality energetics and explosives,” the site says.

The facility is about an hour’s drive west from Nashville.

Public records show that the company has been awarded military contracts in previous years, including by the U.S. Army and Navy, for landmines and other products.

Officials at the Pentagon said that they were aware of the reports and were looking into the situation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.