Blast at Tennessee military munitions plant kills multiple people

McEWEN, Tenn. — An explosion at a Tennessee military munitions plant left multiple people dead and missing on Friday, authorities said, as secondary blasts forced rescuers to keep their distance from the burning field of debris.

The blast, which people reported hearing and feeling miles away, occurred at Accurate Energetic Systems in rural Tennessee. The company’s website says it makes and tests explosives at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills near Bucksnort, a town about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville.

“We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference. “We do have some that are deceased.”

The cause of the explosion, which Davis called “devastating,” was not immediately known, and the investigation could take days, the sheriff said.

Aerial footage of the aftermath by WTVF-TV showed the explosion had apparently obliterated one of the facility’s hilltop buildings, leaving only smoldering wreckage and the burnt-out shells of vehicles.

The sheriff added that although the scene was secure from large explosions, smaller ones may still be heard.

Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said by phone. He didn’t have any details on casualties.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment Friday morning.

“This is a tragedy for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford said in an email. He referred further comment to a county official.

Residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.

The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said by phone. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

State Rep. Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighboring town of Dickson, was worried about the possible economic impact because the plant is a key employer in the area.

“We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house,” Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency confirmed there were injuries but wasn’t sharing any numbers because the Department of Health hasn’t confirmed them, spokesperson Kristin Coulter said by telephone. TEMA district coordinators have deployed to the area at the request of Hickman County, she said.

Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield, in Cockeysville, Maryland; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

田纳西州麦克尤恩——当局称，周五田纳西州一家军用弹药厂发生爆炸，造成多人死亡和失踪，二次爆炸迫使救援人员与燃烧的废墟保持距离。

爆炸发生在田纳西州乡村地区的精准能源系统公司（Accurate Energetic Systems），数英里外的人们都报告听到了爆炸声并感觉到了震动。该公司网站显示，其位于巴克斯诺特（Bucksnort）附近，占地八栋建筑，坐落在树木繁茂的山丘上，主要从事炸药的生产和测试。巴克斯诺特镇位于纳什维尔西南约97公里（60英里）处。

“目前我们仍有数人下落不明。我们正在尽力顾及家属的感受，并妥善处理这种情况，”汉弗莱斯县警长克里斯·戴维斯在新闻发布会上说。“我们确实发现有人已经遇难。”

戴维斯称此次爆炸“后果极其严重”，但爆炸原因尚不清楚，警长表示，调查可能需要数天时间。

WTVF-TV 电视台拍摄的爆炸后航拍画面显示，爆炸显然摧毁了该设施山顶上的一栋建筑物，只留下冒着烟的残骸和烧毁的车辆外壳。

警长补充说，虽然现场已采取措施防止大型爆炸，但仍可能会听到较小的爆炸声。

希克曼县高级急救员大卫·斯图尔特在电话中表示，由于爆炸持续不断，救援人员最初无法进入工厂。他没有透露任何伤亡情况。

位于附近麦克尤恩的精准能源系统公司周五上午没有立即回复记者的电话留言，记者试图就此事发表评论。

麦克尤恩市市长布拉德·拉奇福德在一封电子邮件中表示：“这对我们社区来说是一场悲剧。”他建议就此事向县政府官员咨询。

距离爆炸地点 20 分钟车程的洛贝尔维尔的居民表示，他们感到房屋震动，一些人还用家里的摄像头拍下了爆炸的巨响。

爆炸声惊醒了正在熟睡的詹特里·斯托弗。

“我当时以为房子连人带屋一起塌了，”他通过电话说。“我住的地方离Accurate公司很近，醒来大约30秒后我就意识到肯定是那家公司倒塌了。”

来自邻近迪克森镇的共和党州众议员乔迪·巴雷特担心该工厂可能带来的经济影响，因为该工厂是该地区的主要雇主。

“我们住的地方直线距离大概有15英里，但我们在家里绝对听到了，”巴雷特说。“听起来像是有什么东西穿过了我们家的屋顶。”

田纳西州紧急事务管理局发言人克里斯汀·库尔特在电话中表示，该局已确认有人受伤，但由于卫生部门尚未确认，因此暂不公布具体伤亡人数。她还表示，应希克曼县的要求，紧急事务管理局各地区协调员已部署到事发地区。

美联社记者 Sarah Brumfield（马里兰州科基斯维尔）、Kathy McCormack（新罕布什尔州康科德）和 Kimberlee Kruesi（罗德岛州普罗维登斯）对本报道亦有贡献。