Tennessee plant explosion latest: 19 still missing after deadly blast at military supplier plant rocks community – UK Times

Accurate Energetic Systems has paused all operations, the sheriff said following the explosion on Friday.

He said the company will focus on supporting its employees and their families.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis became emotional as he said authorities are actively searching for 19 missing people after the explosion.

He told reporters the scene was “one of the most devastating” he has seen.

The sheriff would not put a number on fatalities, but confirmed that four to five individuals were airlifted to a nearby hospital.

He said that 19 others remain unaccounted for.

“I refer to them more than just a person… we’re missing 19 souls,” he said, declining to confirm the number of fatalities.

In 2014, a deadly explosion occurred at the Rio Ammunition facility in McEwen, Tennessee, Mayor Jim Bates mentioned on CNN.

The blast was determined to be accidental, according to a preliminary investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Response Team, per The Tennessean.

It happened during cartridge loading operations at the plant, which was operated by explosives manufacturer Maxam and located on property owned by Accurate Energetic Systems, the outlet reported.

Local officials are expected to give an update on the explosion at the military explosives plant in Tennessee.

The briefing is set to happen shortly.

Accurate Energetic Systems 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.

The website noted that it “rigorously adheres to the stringent security standards” of defense department security and safety protocols.

Officials at the Pentagon said that they were aware of the reports and were looking into the situation.

Public records show that the company has been awarded numerous military contracts going back years to manufacture different types of munitions and explosives.

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

Melody Roberts, 74, who live in Franklin, Tennessee, “at least 50 miles away” from the plant, told The Independent’s Justin Rohrlich that she heard the explosion

“I was sitting on my sun porch having a cup of coffee, it was about a quarter to 8,” Roberts said.

“I was out there and it sounded like a bad wreck up on the main road – I live just off the main road – and I thought, ‘Oh my God, somebody must have hit something up there.’ I mean, it shook my house. I kept waiting for sirens, but I didn’t hear anything, and it was probably 40 minutes later that I heard about the explosion. There’s nothing left. It’s gone. It’s just gone.”

“We got a very big investigation,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a press briefing.

“This is not going to be something that we’re going to be like a car wreck or something like that, that we’re just going to clean up the debris and leave. We’re going to probably be here for a few days.”

Residents in Lobelville, which is about a 20-minute drive from the scene of the explosion, said they felt their homes shake, the Associated Press reported.

The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said by phone. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

State Rep. Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighboring town Dickson, was worried about the possible economic impact because the plant is a key employer in the area.

“We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house,” Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”