Massive explosion at Tennessee munitions factory leaves 19 people missing

Authorities successful the confederate US authorities person called the blast ‘devastating’, with galore of the missing presumed dead.

An detonation astatine a Tennessee subject munitions works has near 19 radical missing and feared dead, authorities said.

The blast occurred connected Friday astatine Accurate Energetic Systems, a shaper successful agrarian Tennessee, a authorities successful the confederate United States. People reported proceeding and feeling the detonation miles away.

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Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said it was 1 of the astir devastating scenes he’s ever seen. He did not specify however galore radical were killed, but referred to the 19 missing arsenic “souls” and said officials were inactive speaking to household members.

The company’s website says it makes and tests explosives astatine an eight-building installation that sprawls crossed wooded hills successful the Bucksnort area, astir 97 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Nashville.

The origin of the explosion, which Davis called “devastating”, was not instantly known, and the probe could instrumentality days, the sheriff said.

Aerial footage of the aftermath from the quality transmission WTVF-TV showed the detonation had seemingly obliterated 1 of the facility’s hilltop buildings, leaving lone smoldering wreckage and the burnt-out shells of vehicles.

There’s nary further information of explosions, and the country was nether power by Friday afternoon, according to Grey Collier, a spokesperson for the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency.

Emergency crews were initially incapable to participate the works due to the fact that of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said by phone. He didn’t person immoderate details connected casualties.

Local presumption WTVF-TV captured the wreckage connected the crushed aft the October 10 explosion  [WTVF-TV via AP]

Accurate Energetic Systems, based successful adjacent McEwen, did not instantly respond to a telephone connection seeking remark Friday morning.

“This is simply a calamity for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford said successful an email. He referred further remark to a region official.

Residents successful Lobelville, a 20-minute thrust from the scene, said they felt their homes shingle and immoderate radical captured the large roar of the detonation connected their location cameras.

The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the location had collapsed with maine wrong of it,” helium said by phone. “I unrecorded precise adjacent to Accurate, and I realized astir 30 seconds aft I woke up that it had to person been that.”

State Representative Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighbouring municipality of Dickson, was disquieted astir the imaginable economical interaction due to the fact that the works is simply a cardinal leader successful the area.

“We unrecorded astir apt 15 miles [24km] arsenic the crow flies, and we perfectly heard it astatine the house,” Barrett said. “It sounded similar thing going done the extortion of our house.”