Several people are dead and several others are missing after an explosion Friday morning in Tennessee at a military explosives factory, according to law enforcement.
The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, about 50 miles west of Nashville, occurred at 7:45 a.m. local time (12:45 GMT), Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference.
“We currently have several people missing,” he said, without providing specific numbers. “We have a few that have passed away.”
According to police sources, several people are still missing. PHOTO: Sky5/Sun News
Efforts to reach local authorities or the company were not immediately successful.
Accurate Energetic Systems develops, manufactures and stocks explosives for “the military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets,” according to the company’s website. The 1,300-acre headquarters in Bucksnort, Tennessee, includes eight production buildings and a quality laboratory.
Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told CNN the plant had no history of safety issues, although there was a small munitions explosion in 2014. That incident killed one person and injured three, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
