Massive explosion at a Tennessee ammunition factory leaves 19 people missing Business and economic news

Authorities in the southern US state described the explosion as “devastating,” with many of the missing people presumed dead.

An explosion at a military ammunition factory in Tennessee left 19 people missing and feared dead, authorities said.

The explosion occurred Friday at Accurate Energetic Systems, a manufacturing company in rural Tennessee, a state in the southern United States. People reported hearing and feeling the explosion miles away.

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Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said the incident was one of the most devastating scenes he has ever witnessed. He did not specify the death toll, but referred to the 19 missing people as “spirits” and said officials were still speaking with their families.

The company’s website says it manufactures and tests explosives at an eight-building facility sprawled across the wooded hills of the Bucksnort area, about 97 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Nashville.

The police chief said that the cause of the explosion, which Davis described as “devastating,” was not immediately known and that the investigation could take days.

Aerial footage of the aftermath of the accident broadcast by WTVF-TV news channel showed that the explosion appeared to have destroyed one of the buildings at the hilltop facility, leaving only smoldering wreckage and burning shells of vehicles.

There is no further risk of explosions, and the scene was under control by Friday afternoon, according to Gray Collier, spokesman for the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency.

Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant due to ongoing explosions, Hickman County Advanced Emergency Medicine physician David Stewart said by phone. He did not have any details about the victims.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment Friday morning.

“This is a tragedy for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rashford said in an email. He referred further comment to the county official.

Residents in Loubelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shaking, and some people captured the loud explosion on their home cameras.

The explosion jolted Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house collapsed while I was inside,” he said by phone. “I live near Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to be this way.”

State Rep. Jody Barrett, a Republican from nearby Dixon, expressed concern about the potential economic impact because the plant is a major employer in the area.

“We live probably 15 miles (24 kilometers) away from where the crow flies, and we definitely heard it at home,” Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”