Multiple people dead or missing in blast at Tennessee military explosives plant
An explosion at a Tennessee military munitions plant left multiple people dead or missing on Friday, a county sheriff said, as first responders said secondary blasts forced rescuers to keep their distance from the burning site.
The blast occurred on Friday at Accurate Energetic Systems, a company that makes and tests explosives.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known. Residents miles away reported feeling the explosion.
“We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference. “We do have some that are deceased.”
The company’s website says it makes and tests explosives at the eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills near Bucksnort, a town about 60 miles (97km) southwest of Nashville.
Video from the scene showed flames and heavy smoke rising from a debris field.
Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said by phone.
The sheriff added that although the scene was secure from large explosions, smaller ones may still be heard.
Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwan, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on Friday morning.
“This is a tragedy for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford said in an email. He referred further comment to a county official.
Residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” resident Gentry Stover said.
“I live very close to Accurate and I realised about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
State Representative Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighbouring town of Dickson, said the plant is a key employer in the area.
“We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house,” Mr Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) confirmed there were injuries but was not sharing any numbers because the Department of Health had not confirmed them, spokesperson Kristin Coulter said.
TEMA district co-ordinators have deployed to the area at the request of Hickman County, she said.
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