Sheriff issues major update after bomb factory exploded in Tennessee
The explosion was heard 15 miles away from the blast at the military munitions factory
Jen Thomas
The death toll has risen following the horrific explosion at a bomb factory in Tennessee.
Residents living miles around felt shockwaves following the blast at the Accurate Energetic Systems facility on Friday (October 10) in rural Tennessee, around an hour's drive from Nashville.
It was originally stated that several people were deceased and multiple missing following the explosion.
Authorities have now revealed that at least 16 people have sadly died following the incident at the huge site, spread across eight buildings and 1,300 acres.
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The plant was used for the manufacture and testing of explosives for the military.
Sheriff Chris Davis of Humphreys County said at a previous press conference that the situation was 'extremely serious'.
One local resident, Gentry Stover explained: “I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it, I live very close to Accurate and realised about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that."
Sheriff Davis has now issued a further update, that there are 'no survivors' from the tragedy: “There’s a gauntlet of emotions there," as he was overwhelmed with emotion and asked for prayers for the family.
“We’ve recovered no survivors, we can assume they are deceased at this point, it's a great loss," he added.
It was initially reported that at least 18 people were missing and unaccounted for, but two people were later determined not to have been at the facility at the time of the explosion.
The search has been hindered by the dangerous materials used on site, said the sheriff, who said they are being 'very delicate, very methodical.'
“You want me to be honest? It’s hell,” the Sheriff said, candidly. "It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved...There’s three families in this I’m very close to.
“It’s not like working an accident. It’s not like working a tornado. We’re dealing with explosions. And I would say at this time, we’re dealing with remains."
Jason Craft, the sheriff of Hickman County, added: "We were already going slow, and we’re slowing things down even more."
According to the New York Times, the plant employed around 75 people.
The cause of the explosion has not yet been identified.
Minor explosions continued in the hours after the original blast, which also made it difficult for emergency services to access the scene, said Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart.
Several vigils have been held for the victims over the weekend.
Tim Farris is a senior pastor at Hurricane Chapel in McEwen, and told The Associated Press: “There’s a lot of people hurting. A lot of people who are crying a lot of tears.
“We are sad that our community is going through this, but it’s a tremendous opportunity for the church to minister to a lot of those people today.”
Eyewitnesses had shared videos of an enormous fire and plumes of smoke at the plant, and authorities are still investigating the site.