19 Missing After “Devastating Blast” At Military Explosives Plant In Tennessee
on Oct 10, 2025
A massive explosion rocked a military explosives manufacturing plant in central Tennessee on Friday (October 10).
UPDATE (10/11/2025):
Sheriff Chris Davis shared an update Saturday evening and told the press that the number of deceased now stands at 16.
Davis explained that two of the individuals initially thought to be victims of the explosion had been accounted for. Vehicles and personal items belonging to the two employees were located at the scene, which is why they were thought to have been lost in the explosion.
Family members of the 16 deceased have been located and notified. The names of the victims have not been released.
ATF agent Kyra Cunningham said that “the cause of the explosion has not been determined, and we will not speculate.”
UPDATE (10/11/2025):
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis was in tears as he shared an update during a press conference on Saturday morning, the day after the tragic explosion.
David began the conference by saying, “As we get into this, we find it even more devastating than we thought initially … it’s a tremendous loss, a great loss.”
Davis told reporters that more than 300 people have been on site, combing through the debris. He confirmed that no survivors have been recovered.
Hickman County Sheriff J. Craft added that the scene is changing constantly and that they are trying to take care of the victims’ families as the investigation moves forward.
“It’s changing minute by minute. We found out this morning about some changes with the safety protocol … we were already going slow, and now we’re slowing things down even more just for safety for everybody,” Craft said.
Guy McCormick, an ATF agent based in Nashville, detailed the efforts being made to secure the area from any further danger before search and recovery efforts move forward.
“All of our bomb techs and explosives specialists are up there very thoroughly, methodically trying to make safe the area so that when the national response team comes in this afternoon, that area can be as safe as possible.”
Davis asked for patience as authorities work to identify the victims, a process he said will take some time due to the circumstances. When asked by a reporter if he had given up hope about finding survivors, Sheriff Davis replied:
“Ma’am, I never want to give up hope. Hope’s always on my heart. But, I don’t want to give false hope either.” He added, “At some point we’ve got to rip off the band aid … we’re dealing with explosions. I would say at this time we’re dealing with remains. We’re moving to recovery.”
Davis confirmed that the number of missing has changed from 19 to 18.
ORIGINAL POST:
19 people are missing after an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in McEwen, located roughly 50 miles west of Nashville.
Accurate Energetic Systems is a company “dedicated to the development, manufacture, handling, and storage of high-quality energetic products utilized in both defense and commercial markets,” according to their website.
Their clients include all U.S. Department of Defense branches and other U.S. agencies, foreign military and police, avalanche control companies, commercial aerospace launch providers, commercial demolition companies, and more.
The explosion happened at 7:48 a.m. and demolished one of the company’s eight “specialized production buildings.” The cause of the blast is not known.
Authorities spoke to reporters during a press conference a few hours after the explosion.
During a press conference, Humphrey’s County Sheriff Chris Davis told reporters, “We got a very big investigation. This is not going to be something that we’re going to be like a car wreck or something like that; we’re just going to clean up the debris and leave. We’re going to probably be here for a few days.”
Davis added, “We’re trying to take as much time as is needed right now. We’re prioritizing people that are involved, their families and trying to be very compassionate toward them.”
Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart told the Associated Press that emergency crews were “initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations.”
The number of victims is unconfirmed, but local media is reporting at least one confirmed death with many more unaccounted for.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have responded to the scene to help with the investigation, Davis said.
See aerial footage of the scene in the video below.
On Friday, October 10, an explosion was reported at a Tennessee explosives manufacturer in Hickman County.
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) October 10, 2025
The explosion took place at the Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area. pic.twitter.com/B7MA2VJgyR
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.
