Tennessee: Authorities confirmed on Saturday that there were no survivors following a massive explosion that tore through part of a military explosives factory in rural Tennessee, leaving 16 workers presumed dead.
Families of the missing had waited in anguish for more than a day after a series of explosions ripped through the Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) plant near McEwen, in Humphreys County, early Friday morning. Officials initially feared 19 casualties but later revised the number to 16.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said that authorities now believe everyone inside the building at the time of the blast perished. “More than 300 people have been through almost every square inch of this facility, and at this time, we’ve recovered no survivors,” Davis told reporters.
Davis described the tragedy as even more devastating than first believed, noting that many of the victims were well known in the tight-knit local community. “This has touched everyone here in some way,” he said.
The explosion leveled a structure at the company’s 1,300-acre headquarters in Bucksnort, just south of McEwen and roughly an hour west of Nashville. The blast was so powerful that it was felt several miles away, authorities said.
Officials have not released a confirmed death toll, but Davis said the search had shifted from rescue to recovery, and that investigators would rely on DNA testing to identify the remains.
Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are assisting in the investigation, which remains focused on determining what triggered the explosion. The search has been slowed by the danger of unexploded materials and ongoing secondary detonations in the area.
Accurate Energetic Systems, which manufactures and stores explosives for military, aerospace, and commercial demolition use, issued a statement on Friday expressing condolences but offering no details on what may have caused the incident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, coworkers, and community members affected by this incident,” the company said. The AES complex includes eight production buildings and a quality testing laboratory.
