A “massive” explosion on a Tennessee military supplier has left at least 19 “souls” death or missed, officials say.
The devastating explosion that emerged on the exact energetic system facility in the Bucksnort area just before 10 pm. 8 local time, the closely linked communities shook in Humphrey’s County and the nearby Hickman County.
At least 19 people were reported missing and several others were admitted to the hospital, according to officials in Humphreys County Emergency Management. The official number of victims is not yet known.
“We have more people at this time not stated. We are trying to pay attention to families and that situation,” said Humphrey’s County Sheriff Chris Davis earlier in the day. “We have some who are deceased.”
Davis said at a later press conference that he personally knew three families who were influenced by the explosion, and he described the task of dealing with grieving loved ones as “hell.”
Video from the stage showed the remains of the plant, much of which was still on fire, with thick black smoke also visible. The eight building facility is around 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
The sheriff said it was one of the most devastating scenes he has ever seen. When he was asked to describe the building where the explosion happened, he replied, “There is nothing to describe. It’s gone.”
Later, he told journalists that the explosion, which was felt miles away and appeared on weather radar, left a “half kilometer space” of garbage, with some of the wreck found off-site.
The first respondents could not enter the facility at first due to continued detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart told the Associated Press.
There was no further danger of explosions and the scene was under control by Friday afternoon.
The reason for the explosion remains unknown as the search for the property and the exploration of the explosion continues throughout the night.
The Tennessee residents reported having heard the explosion from Miles away. Beyonica Holt, who lives about 15 miles from the facility, said she “thought we were at war” and that “I should die.”
“I was standing in my bedroom. It shook the whole house. I thought it would blow up my windows – it didn’t, but it was how big it was,” she told Tennessean.
Tennessee -Governor Bill Lee wrote on X on Friday afternoon “monitored” the situation and asked Tennesseeans to “join us in prayer for the families affected by this tragic incident.”
Exact energetic systems have provided ammunition and explosives, including land mines and C4, to the military, largely the army and fleet, reported AP, quoting public registers.
Friday’s explosion marked the second one of its kind in less than a decade. In April 2014, a fire at the facility killed a man and wounded four others, local outlets reported WSMV.