Multiple people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen are missing following a Friday morning explosion at a Tennessee military munitions plant.
The blast, the rumblings of which people miles away reported feeling, occurred shortly before 8 a.m. at Accurate Energetic Systems in rural Tennessee, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
“We do have several people at this time unaccounted for,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference. “We do have some that are deceased.”
Local authorities told Nashville station WKRN that at least 19 workers at the facility remained unaccounted for Friday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office in Hickman County, where the plant is located, assured locals on Facebook that emergency services were on the scene.
The explosion happened around the time of shift change, which may have put more potential victims in harm’s way, according to Nashville station WTVF.
Concerns of secondary blasts reportedly complicated search and rescue efforts.
The cause of the explosion wasn’t immediately clear on Friday. The investigation, which involves the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, could take days, the sheriff said.
Accurate Energetic Systems describes itself as a women-owned small business that’s “dedicated to the development, manufacture, handling and storage of high-quality energetic products utilized in both defense and commercial markets.”
The 43-year-old company, located in McEwen, Tenn., specializes in creating high-grade explosives for demolition. AES also advertises conducting explosives tests on its 1,300-acre production site. Its campus houses multiple structures.
Aerial footage on cable news showed damaged cars and buildings where the explosion occurred. McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford called the blast “a tragedy for our community.”
Local resident Gentry Stover, who lives roughly 20 minutes from AES by car, told The Associated Press by phone that the explosion woke him from his sleep.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said.
With News Wire Services
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