Tennessee plant explosion live updates: Massive blast leaves ‘multiple people’ dead as emergency crews respond – UK Times

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.”

Multiple people are dead and more are missing following a blast at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee, law enforcement officials have said.

At least 19 were initially reported missing and multiple others were hospitalized, according to Humphrey County Emergency Management officials.

Accurate Energetic Systems, which is located about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, was founded in 1980, and is “dedicated to the development, manufacture, handling, and storage of high-quality energetic products utilized in both defense and commercial markets.”

The company specializes in making military explosives, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.

The blast happened at Accurate Energetic Systems near Bucksnort just before 8 a.m. Friday morning.

“We do have some folks, we can confirm that we do have some that are deceased,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference on Friday.

Follow along for more updates.