Sixteen people were killed in a “devastating” explosion at a Tennessee military supply plant Friday morning.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said investigators “recovered no survivors” as he delivered an emotional update on the investigation Saturday. Later that day, officials confirmed the death toll and said they had notified the families of all 16 victims.
“It breaks my heart to tell you that, but I think it can be said,” Davis told reporters Saturday night.
The explosion occurred at the Accurate Energetic Systems facility in the Bucksnort area shortly before 8 a.m. local time. Authorities initially said 19 people were missing and feared dead, but investigators later found three of those people safe outside the site.
Davis said crews are now working to clear the site “foot by foot.”
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation and it could be weeks or months before authorities can rule out foul play, Davis said. He called it the “most devastating scene” he had ever seen on Friday and told reporters that “there’s nothing to describe, it’s gone.”
Explosives specialists are investigating the incident, according to Supervisory Special Agent Guy McCormick of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They are on scene working to make the area safe for law enforcement officers, including agents from the National Response Team, McCormick said.
“In a situation like this, what we find is that when these explosives are subjected to the event that took place (which is the heat, the explosion that is launched, the pressure) they can change and they can become different from how we know they act,” he explained.
Smoke rises from the rubble of a military explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee. The plant exploded on Friday morning (AP)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday he was monitoring the situation and asked residents to “join us in praying for the families affected by this tragic incident.”
Video from the scene showed the remains of the plant still on fire with thick black smoke rising. The eight-building facility is located about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
Gentry Stover, a nearby resident, recalled waking up to the massive explosion and thinking his “house had collapsed” with him inside.
“I live very close to Accurate and about 30 seconds after I woke up I realized that had to be it,” he told the Associated Press.