The investigation into what caused a deadly explosion at Tennessee plant could last for days. Here’s what we know

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Isabel Rosales, CNN

(CNN) — Nearly three days after a massive blast at a Tennessee facility that specialized in making military explosives, investigators are still combing through the site where 16 people were killed in a “mass detonation” so significant experts say it produced seismic readings hundreds of miles away.

Investigators from multiple agencies, including the FBI, are assisting in the response to recover remains for DNA testing, which will likely span days, officials have said. No one has been found alive during the complex search, according to Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, authorities said.

Meanwhile, residents are undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions,” Davis said, as Friday’s blast brought painful memories of tragedies that traumatized the close-knit community and first responders parse through the scene foot by foot.

Here’s what we know about the explosion and the investigation:

Sheriff describes scene as ‘hell on everybody involved’

The early-morning Friday explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, a manufacturing plant for military and demolition explosives, was a “devastating blast,” Davis said, noting responders were able to secure the site by late morning.

The detonation – which was so large that it registered as a 1.6 magnitude earthquake, according to data from U.S. Geological Survey – left charred debris and mangled vehicles across the area.

The blast set off smaller explosions, local officials said, and shook homes as far as 15 miles away while scattering debris over half a square mile.

Accurate Energetic Systems called the incident at its facility a “tragic accident,” in a Friday statement. Davis described the event as one of “the most devastating scenes” he has ever seen.

“It’s hell,” Davis told reporters Friday evening. “It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved.”

Law enforcement resources from across Tennessee, including federal agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, were dispatched to assist in the investigation,a source familiar with the effort told CNN. More than 300 emergency personnel were at the scene Friday, officials said.

The area surrounding the plant is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, the person said, which has prompted other agencies to volunteer resources for support.

The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office, Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are leading the investigation, which is expected “to go on for days,” Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said.

Due to the nature of the explosion, recovery efforts have proven to be excruciating for victims’ families and investigators working to clear the area, potentially detonating and recovering any other explosives in the vicinity and using DNA to identify remains, officials have said.

Investigators planned to perform rapid DNA tests on-site “so that we’re able to identify individuals and provide those answers to the families waiting for those answers,” David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said Sunday.

“We’re at a snail’s pace,” Davis said Sunday, adding, “We will work until there is no work left to be done to try and find the answers that need to be found.”

The recovery effort was being made “more volatile” with the presence of ordnance at the site, and investigators were working with the FBI to use cell phone technology to figure out what happened at the time of the explosion, Davis said Saturday.

Investigators are also pulling employment records and conducting controlled explosions, a source familiar with the investigation said.

“Every effort is being made to conduct a thorough, methodical and science-based investigation to find the answers that led to this tragedy and the answers that this community deserves,” Tyra Cunningham, assistant special agent in charge at the Nashville division of the ATF said Saturday evening.

The agency will ensure “that if criminal activity is involved, those responsible will be held accountable, and if it was accidental, that lessons have been learned to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again,” Cunningham said.

Authorities reveal all 16 victims’ names

In a Monday news conference, authorities revealed the names of all 16 victims of Friday’s tragedy: Jason Adams, Erick Anderson, Billy Baker, Adam Boatman, Christopher Clark, Mindy Clifton, James Cook, Reyna Gillahan, LeTeisha Mays, Jeremy Moore, Melinda Rainey, Melissa Stanford, Trenton Stewart, Rachel Woodall, Steven Wright and Donald Yowell.

“We may not have known that individual personally, but in some form or fashion, we probably, or do, know their family or extended family. And it’s this small county, rural America, where everybody knows each other and everybody’s only going to take care of each other,” Davis said Monday, adding that among the victims was his neighbor’s husband and one of his childhood best friends.

Ernest Mays is among those with a family member on the list: his 26-year-old daughter.

He last spoke with LeTeisha Mays, “a vital” part of his family, nearly three days before Friday’s explosion, he told CNN Sunday.

Authorities said Saturday all the victims’ families had been notified, but Ernest Mays said he never received a call from them and got information about the investigation only from the news.

“We have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers,” sister Kelli Avonte Mays said.

“She’s smart, she’s beautiful, she’s loving, she’s family oriented,” twin sister Lakeisha Mays said. “My absolute other half.”

Stanford was a 53-year-old production supervisor at the plant. Her niece, Brittany Kirouac, told CNN in a statement Saturday, “To say our family is devastated is to put it lightly.”

“We are honestly at a loss for words and grief is not linear. In the past 24 hours I have seen: anger, sadness, bargaining, denial, and acceptance.”

Kirouac said the family just hoped to bring Stanford home so they can say their goodbyes.

The facility, which had about 80 employees, according to the mayor, is about an hour southwest of Nashville, on the Hickman and Humphreys county line.

Officials previously said they were “missing 19 souls,” but later clarified the number of victims was 16.

After the explosion shook Sammy Creech’s home, about 12 miles away, came the painful news that about a dozen of his friends and former co-workers from his time at the facility were on the premises at the time of the blast, he told CNN on Saturday.

“I might’ve slept three hours last night, off and on,” Creech said. “I could see their faces. I can hear their voices.”

The incident hit close to home for Creech, who used to eat lunch almost daily in the building where the explosion happened. Employees would change shifts around the time the explosion happened at 7:45 a.m., which means more people than usual were likely there, he said.

An interconnected community, even in grief

The company, which sits on a 1,300-acre campus, is a beloved employer for many in the tight-knit community, Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN. It’s common to see employees at community events and people wearing baseball hats with the company name on them, Roberts said.

Past disasters have left a painful mark for many, but they’re connected by strong community ties and have come together at vigils to honor and pray for the victims.

“Both our counties was hit pretty hard in ’21,” Davis said Saturday night, choking up, appearing to refer to widespread flooding that hit Humphreys County and killed 20 people in the city of Waverly and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

“We’ve already taken plans to prepare to take care of our loved ones and our families even more,” he said.

“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,” Davis said.

Saturday, one resident, Janie Brown, sought comfort at a prayer vigil at a chapel in McEwen, Tennessee. She knew and worked with some victims and their families, she said, adding the focus should be on the families, not how the tragic event occured.

“It’s going to be a sad, sad day in our community for a while,” she lamented, urging people to “give us time to heal, and pray for us.”

Counseling will be provided at schools to help any families involved, Davis said.

What we know about previous safety issues

Safety concerns have previously been raised at the plant, which faced federal fines several years ago related to workplace safety practices, according to federal records.

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 and eventually reached a formal settlement, OSHA records show.

The company has reported 46 work-related injuries and no deaths since 2016, the earliest year on record. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, the company reported five injuries and one illness.

In 2021, Creech sued the company, alleging wrongful termination after being blamed for a fire that broke out at the facility the previous year. Creech said he had been discriminated against because of his age.

The company disputed Creech’s claim and the case was dropped after mediation.

Like many others, Ernest Mays said he wants to know what caused the explosion and is eager to know whether it was accidental or intentional. He raised concerns about the safety precautions at the site, particularly after an earlier blast in 2014. In April that year, an explosion at the facility killed one worker and injured four others, CNN affiliate WSMV reported.

At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the Accurate Energetic Systems property, but the blast happened in an area operated by Rio Ammunition. Today, Accurate Energetic Systems operates the plant.

LaTeisha Mays had raised several safety concerns about her job previously, her family said, and had complained about getting nose bleeds at work, but she was waiting to pay off her car before taking another job.

Echoing the family, Mays’ roommate told CNN she had expressed concerns about her job and dreaded every shift inside the building.

CNN’s Dalia Faheid, Hanna Park, Maxime Tamsett and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.

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