A massive blast at a Tennessee explosives plant obliterated a building and left 18 people missing. Here’s what we know
By Hanna Park, CNN
(CNN) — Early Friday, a thundering blast at a military and industrial explosives plant reverberated across a tight-knit community in central Tennessee, razing an entire building on the plant’s sprawling campus and killing a still-unknown number of people.
At least 18 people remain missing after the massive explosion, which rattled homes miles away and rocketed debris for at least half a square mile. Officials have acknowledged fatalities but declined to give a number from what remained a chaotic scene long after the blast.
“We need our communities to come together and understand that we’ve lost a lot of people. This don’t only affect those families, it runs deeper … this could be people that you grew up with,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said, noting one victim was a childhood friend of his.
The explosion occurred during an early shift at Accurate Energetic Systems, a manufacturer of military and demolition explosives that employs scores of local residents.
“Prayers are needed … our hearts are broken for the families and for the loved ones that lost their lives,” Wendall Stinson, the manufacturer’s CEO, said alongside officials Friday.
The blast triggered a series of smaller explosions, officials said, and the cause is still under investigation.
Here’s what we know as the investigation continues:
Early morning blast
The explosion happened around 7:45 a.m. local time, waking residents for miles around.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover told the The Associated Press, explaining how he was jolted awake.
It took him only moments to piece what happened together. “I live very close to Accurate (Energetic Systems), and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
Officials said the explosion was felt as far as 15 miles away, but Cody Warren, who lives more than 20 miles from the plant, told CNN the noise woke him and at first he thought lightning had struck his house.
“I went outside and could still hear the ring of the sound off in the distance. I thought maybe it was an earthquake or a meteor explosion,” Warren told CNN.
Closer to the plant, charred debris and mangled vehicles were spread across a vast area. Sheriff Davis called it “the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”
Residents who find debris are being asked to call their local sheriff “so trained personnel can respond safely.” Officials are requesting everyone to avoid the area near the plant while emergency teams do their job.
More than 300 emergency personnel were on the scene at the height of Friday’s response, officials said.
It’s unclear how many people were inside the plant when the explosion happened, Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said.
“It’s going to be an investigation that’s probably going to go on for days,” Bates said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is sending a response team that’s expected to arrive Saturday, local officials said. The ATF and Hickman and Humphreys counties sheriff’s offices will co-lead the investigation, which will also include the FBI, the officials said.
In a statement Friday evening, AES called the explosion a “tragic accident” and said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, coworkers, and community members affected by this incident.”
Investigators using cell records to help determine who was at the plant
As of Friday evening, authorities were still working to contact some of the next-of-kin of employees who were believed to have been inside the building at the time of the explosion, a law enforcement source told CNN.
As part of the ongoing effort to determine which company employees may have been among the victims, the source said authorities are now also conducting analysis of records from nearby cell phone towers.
The sophisticated process involves comparing the cell phone numbers of employees with local cell phone tower registration records to help pinpoint the geographical location of a device at the time of the explosion.
Sheriff Davis noted people in the community were undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions” as many awaited word of loved ones.
“I understand that some families get mad. I understand that some people get upset. … We’re doing the very best we can to take care of this,” Davis said.
‘A well-loved company in the area’
Accurate Energetic Systems makes “various high explosive compositions and specialty products” for the US military and industrial markets, according to the company’s Facebook page. The AES plant employs around 80 people, the Hickman County mayor said.
The facility is spread across 1,300 acres in a rural, wooded area off Interstate 40, roughly 60 miles west of Nashville near the border of Hickman and Humphreys Counties, officials said.
The relatively remote area where the plant is located is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, so other agencies have volunteered resources for support, a source told CNN.
The site consists of five production buildings and “a quality lab for product evaluation and analysis,” according to a company profile from the non-governmental Association of the United States Army, which lists AES as a sponsor.
Last month, the Department of Defense awarded AES a nearly $120 million contract “for the procurement of TNT.”
Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN the company is a beloved employer for many, with workers often seen at community events sporting baseball caps with the company’s logo.
“It is a well-loved company in the area,” Roberts said. “This is going to have a devastating impact on quite a few families.”
Plant’s history includes previous deadly blast
The plant has suffered deadly accidents in the past and faced federal fines related to workplace safety practices, according to media reports and federal data.
In April 2014, an explosion at the facility killed one worker and injured four others, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The blast, in the back of a building used for shotgun ammunition, caused severe damage. At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the property, and the explosion happened in an area run by Rio Ammunition.
Years later, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $7,200, after a 2019 inspection found violations related to personal protective equipment, employee exposure to contaminants and inadequate safety training, among other citations.
The company contested the findings, OSHA records show, and eventually reached a formal settlement. Details about the inspection and its conclusion are limited, and it’s unclear if the plant has faced more recent health or safety reviews.
Records show the company has reported 46 work-related injuries since 2016, the earliest year on record. No workplace deaths were reported during this period. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, the company reported five injuries and one illness.
In 2021, a former employee sued the company, alleging wrongful termination after being blamed for a fire that broke at the facility the previous year. The company disputed the claim, and the case was dropped after mediation.
The Tennessee explosion is a stark reminder of the long history of deadly workplace accidents in small-town America. That history includes the 1947 Texas City disaster, when a ship carrying ammonium nitrate exploded and killed nearly 600 people, and the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, which killed 15 people. A wave of high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s prompted legislative action, leading to the OSHA’s creation, signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
A tight-knit community in mourning
A small crowd gathered for a vigil Friday evening at a nearby park, holding candles as they prayed for the missing and their families, joining voices to sing “Amazing Grace,” the AP reported.
The Humphreys County sheriff said the incident struck close to home, placing a heavy strain on the tight-knit community.
“There are three families that’s involved in this that I’m very close to. When you have small counties like this, we know each other … we love each other,” Davis said.
Three individuals with “minor injuries” were treated at TriStar medical facilities in Dickson, according to a TriStar Health spokesperson. Two were discharged, while one remained under observation in an emergency room as of late Friday, the spokesperson said.
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CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis, Jason Morris, Caroll Alvarado, Chris Youd, Ray Sanchez, Casey Tolan, Josh Campbell, Dalia Faheid and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this report.
