Tennessee military munitions plant explosion: Multiple people dead or missing in “devastating” blast at explosives plant

Rescuers are being forced to keep their distance after a “devastating” explosion at a munitions plant that has killed an unconfirmed number of people - with “19 souls” missing after the blast.

Secondary explosions at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant, which makes and tests explosives, in Tennessee, US, meant rescue teams have been unable to approach the facility with confidence, with a sheriff saying the cause of the explosion is not yet known.

After the blast, on Friday afternoon, residents said they felt the explosion miles from the site, in wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, which the company website details as a facility where explosives are made and tested.

“We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation,” said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis. “We do have some that are deceased.”

“I can tell you right now that we’re looking for 19 individuals,” he said. “And a lot of times when I have this type of situation, I’ll refer to them as more than just a person. They’re a soul to me. I can tell you that we’re missing 19 souls.”

He called the explosion a “very devastating blast” that encompassed a whole building, with video from the scene, around 60 miles south-west of Nashville, showing flames and heavy smoke rising from a field filled with debris.

Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said.

And the sheriff added that although the scene was secure from large explosions, smaller ones may still be heard.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on Friday morning, while mayor Brad Rachford called the incident “a tragedy for our community”.

Nashville-based WTVF-TV broadcast images of debris strewn about the site, with damaged vehicles in a car park. The news station said it received calls from people in the area who felt a large explosion, including in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene. They said they felt their homes shake, while some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” resident Gentry Stover said. “I live very close to Accurate and I realised about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

State Representative Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighbouring town of Dickson, said the plant is a key employer in the area, adding: “We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house. It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) did not confirm the number of people injured as the Department of Health had not confirmed them, spokesperson Kristin Coulter said, while district co-ordinators have deployed to the area at the request of Hickman County.

Public records show Accurate Energetic Systems has been awarded numerous military contracts going back years to manufacture a different types of munitions and explosives.

The contracts, which were awarded largely by the US Army and Navy, were for a variety of products that ranged from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges.

The company also uses the sprawling campus to test explosives, according to its website, measuring the velocity of explosions as well as their impact on surrounding areas under different conditions. However, it “rigorously adheres to the stringent security standards” of defence department security and safety protocols, the site added.

Officials at the Pentagon - home of the US Department of Defence - said they were aware of the reports and were looking into the situation.