Massive blast at Tennessee explosives plant leaves many dead, several ‘unaccounted for’

A massive blast at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee blew up a building on Friday morning, leaving some people dead and several unaccounted for, confirmed local officials. “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. A video shared on X shows badly damaged vehicles and charred debris in the area after the devastating explosion. The plant of the company, Accurate Energetic Systems, LLC, is about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, on the Hickman and Humphreys County line, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. “Several people are unaccounted for” and “some are deceased,” authorities said.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis called the explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems a “very devastating blast” that “encompassed one whole building.”

‘Several people at this time unaccounted for’

“We do have several people at this time that’s unaccounted for,” Sheriff Davis told reporters. “We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation. We do have some folks. We can confirm that we do have some that are deceased.”

“We can confirm there has been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area,” the Hickman County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“Emergency services are currently on the scene working to address the situation. Important: Please avoid the area to allow emergency responders to do their work. If you are in the area, stay clear and follow the instructions from local authorities.”

Multiple agencies are at the scene to assess and contain the fire but are holding back from the immediate area due to a concern over secondary explosions.

Accurate Energetic Systems, founded in 1980, said its business in McEwen is “dedicated to the development, manufacture, handling, and storage of high-quality energetic products utilised in both defence and commercial markets.”

Residents who live near the facility say they felt the impact of the explosion.

The company’s Facebook page says it manufactures “various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the US DoD and US industrial markets.”

The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office is asking everyone to avoid the area as emergency responders do their work.