No one is believed to have survived a powerful explosion at an explosives plant in Tennessee, officials said Saturday, as crews continue to recover remains from the blast site.
“I can tell you that more than 300 people have been through almost every square inch of this facility, and at this time we’ve recovered no survivors,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news briefing.
Davis would not share how many people were killed in the Friday-morning blast, saying, “We’re in the process of the identification of the remains.”
“We can probably make the assumption, and I’m not even going to use the word assumption — I think that we can utilize, well, I have to use that word, forgive me — we can assume that they are deceased at this point.”
Davis said that the cause of the blast at Accurate Energetic Systems near McEwen is still under investigation, and that he cannot rule out foul play.
“That might be days or weeks or months before we can do that,” he said.
The blast happened at around 7:45 a.m. Friday morning and “encompassed one whole building,” according to Davis.
Officials on Friday said at least 18 people who were at the plant were unaccounted for. On Saturday, they did not provide an update on those individuals, reporting only that no survivors had been recovered.
Search operations at the site of the explosion continued overnight as officials notified families waiting on word about their loved ones.
Satellite images from the scene of the blast show nothing remaining of the facility other than scattered debris.
“As we get into this, we find it even more devastating than what we thought initially,” Davis said.
Special Agent Guy McCormick with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said there are certified explosives specialists and bomb technicians on the scene to help make the area safe.
“In a situation like this, what we find is that when these explosives are subject to the event that took place — which is heat, the explosion being thrown, pressure — they can change, and they can become different than how we know them to act,” McCormick said on Saturday.
Accurate Energetic Systems on Friday extended thoughts and prayers in a statement to affected families, employees and community members. The privately owned facility, which processes ammunition and explosives, did not share any additional details on the explosion.
The facility established a family assistance center to provide support for those affected by the incident, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
There is no known threat to the public as a result of the blast, TEMA said. The agency is asking the public to avoid the area so emergency personnel can do their work “safely and efficiently.”
“Residents who locate debris that may have originated from the explosion are asked to contact their local sheriff’s office,” TEMA said. “Trained personnel will respond to ensure the safe handling and collection of any debris.”
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials said.
The FBI is also assisting with the investigation.
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