(Reuters) -Eighteen people were missing and feared dead following an explosion at a munitions factory in rural Tennessee on Friday that obliterated the building and was felt for miles around.
The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems about 60 miles (100 km) west of Nashville caused multiple fatalities but officials had yet to determine a death toll as of late Friday night.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told a press conference the scene was “one of the most devastating situations that I’ve been on in my career,” and that it would take time to determine the cause.
“There’s not going to be a short explanation for that,” Davis said, adding that investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were at the scene.
When asked to describe the building where the blast occurred, Davis said, “There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone.”
Aerial video on WTVF television showed flames and smoke emanating from debris where the building once stood. Witnesses reported the blast being heard and felt for miles around, local media said.
Davis initially said 19 people were missing but WSMV television later reported one of those believed missing was found safe at home, citing officials.
The company offered no indication of the cause, saying in a statement, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, coworkers, and community members affected by this incident,” while thanking the first responders on the scene.
Accurate Energetic Systems develops, manufactures and stores explosives for “military, aerospace, and commercial demolition markets,” according to the company’s website. The 1,300-acre headquarters in Bucksnort, Tennessee, includes eight production buildings and a quality lab.
The company offered relatively high paying jobs for a rural area in Tennessee, where employers must pay the minimum of $7.25 an hour. On its Facebook page, AES said it was hiring production workers at a starting rate of $19 an hour.
Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told CNN the plant did not have a history of safety problems, although there was a small ammunition explosion there in 2014. That incident killed one person and injured three, according to The Tennessean newspaper.
(Reporting by Rich McKay, Christian Martinez, Bhargav Acharya and Costas Pitas; Writing by Joseph Ax and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Frank McGurty and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
