Tennessee authorities say no survivors have been found following the deadly explosives factory explosion

An explosion in rural Tennessee that destroyed an explosives factory and was felt for miles around left no survivors, authorities said Saturday.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference that officials are working on the assumption that all people at the site are dead. The total number of people killed, as well as the cause of the explosion, was not clear.

Davis had previously said that 18 people were missing.

“We were unable to recover any survivors,” Davis said.

The explosion Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies the military and conducts explosives research, scattered debris over at least a half-mile (800 meters) and was felt more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, Davis said.

Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop site ablaze and filled with smoke on Friday, with a mass of twisted metal, burned-out car shells and a pile of debris behind it.

Describing it as one of the worst scenes he had ever seen, Davis said officials were investigating the site and were still working to recover the dead.

“It’s not like working in an accident. It’s not like working in a hurricane. We’re dealing with explosions. I would say at this time, we’re dealing with remains,” he said.

Davis, who appeared emotional at times, said there has been an outpouring of support for the community, which is located in a densely wooded region of middle Tennessee, between the economically vital Tennessee River and the bustling city of Nashville.

Signs near the site on Saturday asked for prayers for the families.

“A lot of sadness”

Terry Bagsby, 68, is retired but helps run the register at a gas station near the site. People in the close-knit community are “very sad,” he said.

He said he knew people who worked at the site and were missing.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Just a lot of sadness.”

The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility sprawling across the wooded hills of Bucksnort, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville. It was not immediately known how many people worked at the factory or how many people were there when the explosion occurred.

Investigators are trying to determine what happened and have been unable to determine the cause of the explosion, Davis said.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a social media post Friday that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families and community affected.

“We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult circumstances,” the post read.

An explosion shakes residents from sleep

The company has received numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply various types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. Products range from bulk explosives to land mines and small penetration charges, including C4.

When the explosion occurred, residents of Loubellville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shaking, and some people captured the loud bang on their home cameras.

The explosion jolted Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house collapsed with me in it,” he told the Associated Press. “I live near Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to be this way.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee posted on the social media platform

A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night in a nearby park, holding candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang. Amazing blessing.

The United States has a long history of fatal workplace accidents, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped prompt President Richard Nixon to sign legislation creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the following year.

In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the U.S. Department of Labor for violating policies intended to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations.

In 2014, an explosion occurred at another munitions facility in the same small community, killing one person and wounding at least three others.