McEwen, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities were investigating an incident. Explosion that destroyed an explosives factory In rural Tennessee, families of 18 people missing and feared dead anxiously awaited answers Saturday.
friday morning explosion accurate energy systemHumphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said debris was scattered for at least a half-mile (800 meters) at the facility, which supplies and researches explosives for the military, and was felt by residents more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away.
Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop site on Friday smoldering and smoky, with only twisted chunks of metal, the burned out shell of a car and a swath of debris remaining.
Davis puts it this way: worst scene he’s ever seenannounced that multiple people had died. But he declined to say how many people were missing, referring to the 18 missing as “souls” as officials were still talking to their families.
“What we need now is for the community to come together and understand that we have lost so many people,” he said.
The company processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility spread out over wooded hills in the Bucksnault neighborhood, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville, according to its website. It was not immediately clear how many people were working at the factory or how many were present when the explosion occurred.
Davis said investigators are trying to determine what happened but could not say what caused the explosion.
Accurate Energetic Systems, based near McEwen, said in a social media post Friday that it had its “thoughts and prayers” with the families and communities affected.
“We would like to express our gratitude to all the first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult circumstances,” the post said.
Public records show the company has numerous military contracts, primarily from the U.S. Army and Navy, supplying various types of ammunition and explosives. Products range from bulk explosives to landmines to small-scale breaches including C4.
Residents in Lovellville, a 20-minute drive from the explosion, said they felt their homes shake, and some captured the loud blast on their home cameras.
The sound of an explosion jolted Gentry Stover from his sleep.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside,” he told The Associated Press. “I live right around the corner from Accurate, and about 30 seconds after I woke up, I knew it had to be that.”
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee posted on social platform
On Friday night, a small group gathered in a nearby park, clutching candles, praying for the missing and their families, and singing “Amazing Grace.”
The United States has a long history of workplace fatalities, including the 1907 Mononga coal mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 362 men and women. Several high-profile industrial accidents during the 1960s led President Richard Nixon to sign legislation the following year creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems was slapped with several small fines by the U.S. Department of Labor for violating policies aimed at protecting workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to OSHA citations.
In 2014, an explosion at another ammunition facility in the same small community killed one person and injured at least three others.
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Associated Press writer Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City. Kathy McCormack of Concord, New Hampshire; Kimberly Krusi of Providence, Rhode Island; Harry Golden and Harry Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
