Nineteen people remain unaccounted for and are feared dead after a massive explosion tore through a military munitions facility in rural Tennessee on Friday morning. The blast, which occurred at Accurate Energetic Systems near Bucksnort—roughly 60 miles southwest of Nashville—shook homes miles away and prompted a large-scale emergency response.
“This is one of the most devastating situations I’ve been on in my career,” said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis during a press briefing. When asked to describe the scene, Davis grimly replied, “There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone.”
The explosion flattened much of the plant, sending debris across nearby properties and sparking smaller secondary blasts that initially kept rescuers at bay. According to David Stewart, a Hickman County advanced EMT, first responders had to wait until conditions stabilized before entering the site to search for survivors and assess the damage.
By Friday afternoon, authorities confirmed multiple fatalities, though officials withheld exact numbers pending verification by the Tennessee Department of Health. “We can confirm that we do have some that are deceased,” Davis said. The sheriff also noted that family notifications were still underway, calling the situation “massive” and “hellish.”
Davis, who personally knew several of the families affected, urged residents to report any strange debris found on their properties, emphasizing that such material could be critical to the investigation into what triggered the blast.
Accurate Energetic Systems, which specializes in manufacturing and testing explosives, did not respond to media inquiries following the incident. The company, based in nearby McEwen, has not released any statement regarding the cause of the explosion.
McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford described the event as “a tragedy for our community” in an email to the Associated Press. State and federal agencies have joined local responders in managing the aftermath.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee acknowledged the disaster on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
“We are monitoring the ongoing situation in Hickman County, and state agencies are responding in partnership with local and federal teams. We ask Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident.”
Residents from as far as Lobelville, over 20 minutes away, reported feeling the ground shake and hearing a thunderous boom. Home security cameras captured the sound, while footage broadcast by WTVF-TV in Nashville showed charred debris and damaged vehicles at the scene.
One resident, Gentry Stover, said the force of the blast jolted him awake.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside,” he told the Associated Press. “I live very close to Accurate, and about 30 seconds after I woke up, I realized it had to have been that.”
As recovery efforts continue, investigators are working to determine what caused the deadly explosion. Officials have not ruled out any possibilities, and the full scope of the damage—both human and environmental—remains unclear.
For now, Bucksnort and the surrounding communities are left reeling from a disaster that, in Sheriff Davis’s words, “has changed this area forever.”
