How investigators have used Rapid DNA analysis to identify 14 of the Tennessee explosion victims

By Isabel Rosales, Alisha Ebrahimji, Amanda Musa, CNN

(CNN) — Investigators using technology that lets them analyze DNA quickly without a lab have positively identified the remains of 14 of the 16 people killed in a massive blast at a Tennessee explosives plant Friday, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials say there were no survivors inside the facility, depriving investigators of crucial eyewitness accounts of the final moments leading up to the explosion.

While investigators have compiled a list of employees presumed to be dead, the certainty of DNA testing may provide comfort for the victims’ loved ones, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said in a press conference Wednesday.

“This is that one little piece of light that’s made it through it in efforts to give [families] the hope of having closure,” Davis said.

Identifying victims’ remains has been a slow process because bodies can be recovered only when the surrounding area is declared safe from explosives.

Crews have made progress removing hazardous materials and explosives from the massive scene, according to Jamey VanVliet, special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Nashville Field Division.

“This is day five and there’s a lot more work to do,” VanVliet said.

Authorities have expedited the process by getting DNA samples from family members who lost loved ones, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said. Once remains are available, authorities are using “rapid DNA” technology to quickly develop a DNA profile from family members to compare to those remains, according to the TBI.

Unlike traditional DNA testing, Rapid DNA is an automated process that develops a DNA profile in less than 2 hours from a mouth swab, according to the FBI. The quick and portable system also gives investigators the ability to do DNA analysis anywhere without the need for a labratory.

Authorities revealed the names of all 16 victims during a news conference Monday: 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.

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.

The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, a manufacturing plant for military and demolition explosives, was so large that it registered as a 1.6 magnitude earthquake, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The facility, which had about 80 employees, according to Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates, is about an hour southwest of Nashville, on the Hickman and Humphreys County lines.

Investigators say the cause of the blast may not be known for weeks or months, in part because the impact area is so widespread. Some residents have found debris as far as two miles from the facility, according to the Hickman County Sheriff’s office.

The initial detonation triggered a cascade of smaller explosions, creating about half a square mile of damaged area and potentially obscuring the true origin of the blast, authorities have said. Debris that may be key evidence could be as small as a fingernail, experts told CNN, and might have been thrown miles away.

“Once we have that entire area cleared for all hazards, all remains, everything else, then we’ll start the post-blast investigation to see the cause and origin of what happened,” said Brice McCracken, special agent in charge at the ATF’s National Center for Explosives Training and Research.

The ATF and assisting agencies will use facility blueprints, pictures and a field of debris to reconstruct the scene, agency Special Agent in Charge Matthew Belew said Monday.

“It’s almost like putting a puzzle back together,” Belew added.

While it is unclear what exactly was manufactured in the destroyed building, Accurate Energetic Systems is a key supplier to the military and manufactures bulk explosives, landmines and small breaching charges, including C4. Last month, the US Department of Defense awarded the company a contract for nearly $120 million for “the procurement of TNT.”

The ATF, which is leading the investigation, has sent in one of its elite National Response Teams as part of the investigation.

“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,” said Tyra Cunningham, assistant special agent in charge at the agency’s Nashville division.

In recent years, safety concerns have 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.

Ernest Mays, the father of victim LeTeisha Mays, says he is eager to know whether the explosion 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.

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