Multiple people dead in ‘devastating blast’ at explosives manufacturer in Tennessee: Sheriff

(MCEWEN, Tenn.) — Multiple people are dead following a “devastating blast” at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee on Friday, according to authorities.

The explosion occurred Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems in McEwen, located about 50 miles west of Nashville.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis confirmed to reporters there are “some” fatalities and several people missing in the blast, though he did not give specific numbers.

At least 13 people are unaccounted for, Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told ABC News.

“We got a very big investigation,” Davis said during a press briefing. “This is not going to be something that we’re going to be like a car wreck or something like that, that we’re just going to clean up the debris and leave. We’re going to probably be here for a few days.”

“We’re trying to take as much time as is needed right now. We’re prioritizing people that are involved, their families and trying to be very compassionate toward them,” he continued.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are among the agencies that have responded to the scene, Davis said.

Accurate Energetic Systems is “cooperating with us in any way, in every way possible,” Davis said. 

“They’re wanting to figure out this just as much as we are,” he added.

Accurate Energetic Systems manufactures explosives and energetic devices for the military, aerospace, demolition and mining industries, according to its website.

Its customers include the Defense Department and Homeland Security, according to the Association of the United States Army.

The explosion occurred at 7:48 a.m. local time and destroyed one of the facility’s buildings, officials said.

Video from a Nest camera at a home in Lobelville, about 11 miles from the plant, captured shaking as an explosion can be heard. 

A McEwen resident who lives several miles from the plant said she felt her whole house shake.

“It felt like our house had some kind of explosion,” Lauren Roark told ABC News. “I jumped out of bed, asked my husband, ‘What was that?'”

Roark found what she believes to be debris from the explosion in her yard — “big chunks of insulation-looking stuff” — which she reported to authorities.

ABC News’ Kerem Inal contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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