A deadly explosion on Friday at Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosives facility in Tennessee, left multiple people dead and at least 19 employees unaccounted for, police said.
The explosion occurred around 7:45 am, destroying an entire building within Accurate Energetic Systems’ eight-building complex, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said in a press conference Friday, according to the BBC.
Davis confirmed multiple fatalities but said families are being notified before names are released; at least 19 workers remain missing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Homeland Security, and the State Fire Bomb and Arson Team are securing the site after additional detonations followed the initial blast, Davis said.
The investigation will be conducted as a joint operation between Humphreys County and Hickman County authorities.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, said ATF special agent John Devito, noting that while such facilities are highly regulated and follow strict safety protocols, “mistakes do happen.”
The facility was also the site of a lethal explosion in 2014.
Accurate Energetic Systems, a defense contractor that manufactures and tests military-grade explosives for the US government and private clients, operates a 1,300 acre complex about 60 miles southwest of Nashville in McEwen, Tennessee.Cynthia Abrams, a reporter for WPLN News in Nashville, told the BBC the company has had lucrative contracts with the federal government over the past 20 years. Still, the facility has a history of safety issues. In 2014, an explosion and fire on the property took out two walls and a portion of the roof, killing one worker and injuring three others, according to the Associated Press. Federal regulators OSHA later cited the company in 2019 for violations involving workplace sanitation, record keeping of injuries and illnesses, and chemical hazard communication requirements.
“We do have 19 souls that we are looking for,” Davis said, according to the BBC, calling it “one of the most devastating situations” in his career. In regard to what caused the explosion, he said, “Do I see a short term explanation? No.”
Authorities are expected to release the official death toll once families have been notified. Investigators from the ATF, TBI, and Homeland Security will examine whether safety lapses or equipment failures played a role in the explosion.
Nineteen missing after huge blast at Tennessee explosives plant, officials say