19 people are missing after an explosives facility exploded in Tennessee

Eighteen people are missing after an explosion at a military explosives manufacturing facility in Tennessee on Friday.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said a person initially believed to be at the scene was found at the home. Four or five people were taken to a nearby hospital after the massive explosion destroyed the factory.

“There’s nothing to describe, he’s gone,” he said.

The plant, located in Bucksnort, Tennessee, about 56 miles (90 kilometers) southwest of Nashville, specializes in developing, manufacturing, processing and storing explosives. The cause of the explosion is still unclear.

Aerial video from the scene showed charred wreckage, burning vehicles and little of the facility owned by Accurate Energetic Systems.

Sheriff Davis, visibly emotional during his first media conference that day, declined to say specifically how many people died.

But he noted that the factory was operating when the explosion occurred and that secondary explosions forced first responders to keep their distance from the site.

Workers who had just started their day “may now be missing or dead.”

“A lot of times, when I’m faced with this type of situation, I refer to it as more than just a person… We’re missing 19 souls,” Davis said.

During a second briefing hours later, Davis confirmed that 19 people were still missing and that the explosion had occurred in a large building. He added that the debris was thrown over an area of ​​half a square mile.

“This was a massive enough explosion for me to tell you that people in Waverly felt and heard this explosion,” he said, referring to a town located about 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) northwest of the facility.

Davis refused to answer whether he believed the explosion was accidental or intentional, saying, “We have to make the worst assumptions in order to know the truth.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a social media post that his office was monitoring the ongoing situation, and referred to it as a “tragic incident.” State and local authorities are working with federal agencies to respond to the explosion.

Two patients were treated for “minor injuries” due to the explosion and were released, said Casey Stapp, director of media relations at TriStar Health in nearby Dixon.

A third patient is still being treated for minor injuries, Stapp said.

Local media said patients were also being treated in other hospitals in the area, and that residents living more than 20 miles from the site felt the explosion.

The plant, located on 1,300 acres, produces C-4, TNT and other high-quality military and commercial explosives and stores them there.

Al-Sharif said that the delicate power systems have now stopped working. The company is believed to employ about 75 people.

“They are focused on their families and their employees,” Davis said.

The explosion occurred on the border of Hickman and Humphreys counties and sparked a widespread response from local and federal agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The FBI and ATF secured the scene and declared his condition stable, Davis said.

Davis said officers were expected to remain at the scene for several days, with a number of teams trying to establish what happened, and promised a “slow and methodical” investigation.

Another explosion occurred at the same location in 2014. at a unit that was run by a company called Rio Ammunition.

Reports at the time stated that one man was killed and three injured in this explosion.

Ken Cross, former president of the Institute of Explosives Engineers, told the BBC that mixing explosives and packing munitions is a “high-risk, low-prospect industry” when properly regulated.

“Competent personnel are essential, and the majority of organizations provide appropriate training and supervision to their explosives workers,” he added.

He also noted that globally, there are reports of factory explosions most weeks, but those explosions are often in places that make fireworks or “may be perceived as not having optimal explosives safety legislation and official oversight.”