McEwen, Tennessee– McEwen, Tenn. (AP) — Officials were investigating A.J An explosion destroyed an explosives factory In rural Tennessee, families of 18 people missing and feared dead waited anxiously Saturday for answers.
The explosion on Friday morning at Micropower systemsThe district, which supplies the military and conducts explosives research, had debris scattered over at least a half-mile (800 meters) and was felt more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis.
Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop site ablaze and filled with smoke on Friday, with a mass of twisted metal, burned-out car shells and a pile of debris behind it.
Davis, who described it as one of The worst scenes he had ever seenHe said several people were killed. But he refused to specify their number, referring to the 18 missing people as “spirits” because officials were still speaking with their families.
“What we need now is we need our communities to come together and realize that we have lost a lot of people,” he said.
The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility sprawling across the wooded hills of Bucksnort, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville. It was not immediately known how many people worked at the factory or how many people were there when the explosion occurred.
Investigators are trying to determine what happened and have been unable to determine the cause of the explosion, Davis said.
Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a social media post on Friday that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families and communities affected.
“We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult circumstances,” the post read.
The company has received numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply various types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. Products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small penetration charges, including C4.
When the explosion occurred, residents of Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shaking, and some people captured the loud bang on their home cameras.
The explosion jolted Gentry Stover from his sleep.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me in it,” he told the Associated Press. “I live near Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to be this way.”
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee posted on the social media platform
A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night in a nearby park, holding candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang “Amazing Grace.”
The United States has a long history of fatal workplace accidents, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped prompt President Richard Nixon to sign legislation creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the following year.
In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the U.S. Department of Labor for violating policies intended to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations.
In 2014, an explosion occurred at another munitions facility in the same small community, killing one person and wounding at least three others.
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Associated Press writers Sarah Broomfield, in Cockeysville, Maryland; Hannah Schoenbaum, in Salt Lake City; Cathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Kimberly Crossey in Providence, Rhode Island; Haley Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.