Blast at Tennessee Military Explosives Plant Leave Multiple People Dead, Several Missing

Safety at Work

Hickman County, TN (WorkersCompensation.com) – A blast at a military explosive facility in Tennessee has left many workers dead and several “unaccounted for,” officials said Friday.

Around 7:45 a.m., a “devastating blast” ripped through Accurate Energetic Systems, LLC, in McEwen, Tenn., on the Hickman and Humphreys county lines, about an hour from Nashville.

“We can confirm that we do have some that are deceased,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference. He did not say how many people had been killed.

“We do have the scene as secure as possible at this time. You may hear some smaller explosions around the scene, but they are things that we have taken into consideration. We know that it’s secure — the scene is secure as far as no more mass explosions or larger explosions.”

Multiple agencies have responded to the scene, officials said. While they are working to assess and contain the fire, as of Friday afternoon there was still a concern over secondary explosions, officials said, causing some responding agencies to hold back.

“We’ve got a very big investigation. This is not going to be something that we’re going to be — like a car wreck or something like that — that we are just going to clean up the debris and leave,” Davis said.

Davis said the search and investigation could take days. His priority, he said, was reaching the families of people who may have been involved.

“Right now, we’re prioritizing people that are involved, their families and trying to be very compassionate toward them,” Davis said.

Accurate Energetic Systems was founded in 1980 and specializes in “the development, manufacture, handling and storage of a diverse array of energetic products and explosives for military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets.” The company makes "linear shaped charges to claymore mines."

The company also touts the safety focus of its 1,300-acre facility and eight production buildings on its website. Officials said it appeared that the blast encompassed one of the eight buildings. Aerial footage showed debris over a wide area with some of the debris on fire. Cars in a nearby parking lot were damaged by the blast, and some of them were also on fire. The footage from news helicopters showed a wide debris field over what appeared to be the foundation of a building, with plumes of grey black smoke rising from the site.

"Our manufacturing facilities are designed with environmental control systems to ensure optimal conditions for the production of high-quality energetics and explosives," the website reads.

The company’s customers include Its customers include the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, according to the Association of the U.S. Army.

The sheriff said the company is cooperating with the investigation that has grown to include the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security; and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation among others.

"They're wanting to figure out this just as much as we are," he said.

A McEwen resident who lives several miles from the plant said when the plant exploded her whole house shook.

"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.

Officials said between 13 and 19 people are unaccounted for, but that number may change as agencies are able to get closer to the scene. The blast took place near the time of the regular shift change at the plant potentially increasing the number of people coming and going.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said it wasn’t sharing any numbers at this time because the Department of Health hasn’t confirmed them, according to spokesperson Kristin Coulter.

Tennessee State Rep. Jody Barrett, (R-Dickson) said he was worried about the possible economic impact to the area. The plant is a major employer for the two counties.

“We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house,” Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”

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