Overview
- The early-morning explosion around 7:45 a.m. destroyed a building at Accurate Energetic Systems near Bucksnort/McEwen, with secondary blasts initially keeping responders at a distance.
- Officials reported no survivors found at the site and transitioned from search-and-rescue to recovery operations focused on locating and identifying remains.
- The count of those unaccounted for was initially placed at 19 and later revised downward after authorities verified some workers were not on site, with a final death toll still pending.
- Federal, state and local teams remain on scene, including ATF, the FBI, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and a bomb squad, as a multiagency investigation gets underway.
- Residents miles away felt the shockwave and reported debris over a wide area, and aerial images showed extensive damage across the explosives manufacturer’s multi-building campus.