‘Big loss’: No survivors from explosion at Tennessee explosives plant, sheriff says

Workers inside an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee at the time of a “devastating explosion” on Friday are presumed dead, authorities announced Saturday.

“I can tell you that over 300 people have passed through almost every square inch of this facility and at this time, we have not recovered any survivors,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference Saturday.

Davis added: “We can assume that they are deceased at this time.”

The explosion occurred Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems in McEwen, located about 50 miles west of Nashville.

Davis said the search has now become a recovery effort.

“This is a great loss for our communities,” Davis said while holding back tears. “We’re dealing with explosions, and I would say right now we’re dealing with debris.”

Davis said officials are now in the process of identifying the remains and are using cell phone data to determine whose devices were at the scene at the time of the explosion.

“As we get into this, we find it more devastating than we initially thought,” he said.

Davis emphasized that the investigation is a “slow and methodical” process due to the nature of the scene and the volatility of the chemicals currently present.

Certified explosives specialists and bomb technicians from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also on scene to assist authorities.

Officials previously declared 18 people missing after the explosion, according to a statement from the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency. On Saturday, officials did not provide a specific number of people they had recovered from the scene.

Authorities said they will conduct some controlled explosions throughout the day on Saturday to clear hazardous materials currently at the site so investigation and recovery efforts can safely continue.

Four to five people were taken to hospitals, according to the sheriff, who did not detail their injuries.

When asked to describe the building where the explosion occurred, Davis said, “There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone. It’s probably been one of the most devastating situations I’ve ever been in in my career.”

The sheriff said during an earlier briefing that this is a “very large investigation.”

“This is not going to be something like a car accident or something, that we’re just going to clean up the debris and leave. We’ll probably be here for a few days,” he said.

“We are trying to take as much time as necessary at this time. We are prioritizing the people involved, their families and trying to be very compassionate with them,” he continued.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Accurate Energetic Systems manufactures explosives and energy devices for the military, aerospace, demolition and mining industries, according to its website.

Its clients include the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, according to the United States Army Association.

Video from a Nest camera at a home in Lobelville, about 11 miles from the plant, captured shaking while an explosion was heard.

A McEwen resident who lives several miles from the plant said she felt her entire house shake.

“It felt like our house had had some kind of explosion.,” Lauren Roark told ABC News. “I jumped out of bed and asked my husband, ‘What was that?'”

Roark found what he believes to be debris from the explosion in his yard: “large pieces of insulating-looking material,” which he reported to authorities.

Kadi Arnold, who also lives in McEwan, told ABC News she sometimes heard explosions at the plant, which is about 4 miles from her home, but “I knew this one wasn’t normal.”

“The explosion was so strong and shook my house that I literally thought the back of my house had exploded,” he said.

“Once I realized it wasn’t my house, I immediately knew something terrible had happened at AES,” he said, adding that the community is in “shock.”

“We are a pretty close-knit community and we are all devastated and heartbroken,” he said.