Investigators do not expect to find any survivors at the scene of a massive explosion at a Tennessee military explosives company that left 18 people missing, officials said Saturday.
The explosion, which was felt for miles, leveled a 1,300-acre (5 km²) Accurate Energetic Systems headquarters building early Friday morning in Bucksnort, about an hour’s drive west of Nashville.
“Over 300 people have gone through almost every inch of this facility, and so far we have found no survivors,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told reporters. “This is a great loss for our communities.”
Authorities did not give a precise toll but previously indicated that 18 people were missing. Davis confirmed the operation had shifted from rescue to recovery and that investigators would use DNA testing to confirm the identities of the deceased.
Learn more: Several dead and several missing after an explosion at an explosives factory in the United States
Investigators, including agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were still working to determine the cause of the explosion, officials said. The presence of explosives and other munitions on the property complicated the search at the scene.
In a statement released Friday, the company thanked first responders but did not indicate a possible cause.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, colleagues and community members affected by this incident,” the company said.
Accurate Energetic Systems develops, manufactures and stocks explosives for “the military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets,” according to the company’s website. The head office includes eight production buildings and a quality laboratory.
A small munitions explosion at the factory in 2014 killed one person and injured three, according to local media.
