Sixteen people are dead after a blast at a military explosives plant in Tennessee, leaving no survivors, authorities confirmed on Oct. 11.
The blast occurred at a facility operated by Accurate Energetic Systems in Hickman County on the morning of Oct. 10.
Search efforts have been underway ever since to find any survivors. Sheriff Chris Davis, of neighboring Humphreys County, said about 300 first responders joined the search efforts.
Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) also responded to the blast incident.
Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 11, Davis indicated that responders have concluded that 16 people had been at the facility at the time of the explosion, all of whom were killed.
“We have notified all 16 families of those people that we feel [were] involved in this situation, this tragedy,” Davis told reporters.
Earlier in the search effort, Davis had told members of the media that as many as 18 people were thought to be potentially lost in the factory explosion. He said authorities have since determined that two of those people were not at the facility after all.
“While this investigation is still in this early stage, at this point, the cause of this explosion has not yet been determined, and we will not speculate,” said Tyra Cunningham, of the ATF’s Nashville Division. “What we can say is that every effort is being made to conduct a thorough, methodical, and science-based investigation to find the answers that led to this tragedy and the answers that this community deserves.”
The Oct. 10 blast was heard as far as 15 miles away and flung debris up to half a mile around the site.
Davis previously described the blast site as one of the worst scenes he’s ever witnessed.
“We ask Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident,” Lee said.
Sens. Bill Haggerty (R-Tenn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have also offered messages of condolences in response to the blast.
