Blast at Tennessee explosives plant leaves multiple people dead and missing
Rescuers have been forced to keep their distance by secondary explosions at the military munitions facility
A blast leveled an explosives plant on Friday in rural Tennessee, leaving behind a mass of twisted metal, burned-out shells of cars and at least 18 people missing and feared dead, authorities said.
“There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said of the blast site at Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies and researches explosives for the military.
He said it was one of the worst scenes he had ever seen and especially gut-wrenching because he knew three families connected to the tragedy.
Davis said multiple people were killed, but he declined to say how many, referring to the 18 missing as “souls” because officials were still speaking to family.
Officials had originally said 19 people were missing, but Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency updated that number on Friday night after they said one person believed to be on site was found safe at home.
The blast occurred at about 7.45am, Davis said. Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop location smoldering and smoky. Debris was scattered over at least 1km (half mile) area, and people more than 24km (15 miles) away felt the explosion, he said.