Nineteen people are missing after an explosion at a military explosives plant in Tennessee on Friday.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said four or five people were taken to a nearby hospital after the massive explosion leveled the factory and that several people died.
“There’s nothing to describe, it’s no longer there,” he said.
The plant in Bucksnorth, Tennessee, about 56 miles (90 km) southwest of Nashville, specializes in the development, production, handling and storage of explosives. The cause of the explosion remains unclear.
Video from the scene shows charred wreckage, smoldering vehicles and little remains of the facility, owned by Accurate Energetic Systems.
Sheriff Davis, who was visibly emotional during his first media briefing, declined to provide an exact death toll.
But he noted that the plant was already operating when the explosion occurred and that secondary explosions forced first responders to keep their distance from the scene.
Workers who had just started their workday “are now at risk of going missing or dying.”
“Oftentimes when I have situations like this, I talk about it as more than just a person…we're 19 souls short,” Davis said.
During a second briefing hours later, Davis confirmed that 19 people were still missing and that the explosion had occurred in a large building. He added that debris was scattered over a half-square mile.
“It was a pretty powerful explosion, and I can tell you that the people in Waverly felt and heard that explosion,” he said, referring to a town about 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) northwest of the site.
Davis declined to say whether he believed the explosion was accidental or intentional, saying “we'll have to make our worst guess to know the truth.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a social media post that his office is monitoring the ongoing situation and called it a “tragic incident.” State and local authorities worked with federal agencies to respond to the explosion.
Casey Stapp, director of media relations for TriStar Health in nearby Dixon, said two patients who showed up were treated for “minor injuries” from the explosion and released.
The third patient who showed up is still being treated for minor injuries, Stapp said.
Local media reported that patients were also being treated at other hospitals in the area and that residents living more than 20 miles from the scene may have felt the explosion.
The plant, located on approximately 1,300 acres, produced C-4, TNT and other high-grade military and industrial explosives and stored them there.
Accurate Energetics Systems has gone out of business, the sheriff said. The business is believed to have employed around 75 people.
“They're focused on their families, their employees,” Davis said.
The explosion occurred on the border of Hickman and Humphreys counties and prompted a massive response from local and federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The FBI and ATF secured the scene and declared it stable, Davis said.
Officers are expected to remain on the scene for several days while multiple teams try to figure out what happened, Davis said, vowing a “slow and methodical” investigation.
Another explosion occurred in the same location in 2014 at a facility operated by Rio Ammunition.
Reports at the time said the explosion killed one person and injured three others.
Mixing explosives and munitions is a “highly hazardous and unlikely industry” if properly regulated, Ken Cross, former president of the Institute of Explosives Engineers, told the BBC.
“Competent personnel are essential, and most organizations provide appropriate training and supervision to their workers who handle explosives,” he added.
He also noted that there are reports of factory explosions almost every week around the world, but they often occur in places where fireworks displays are held or “where explosive safety legislation and official oversight may be considered to be less than ideal.”
