Deadly explosion destroys Tennessee explosives plant, killing 16 -VIDEO
Authorities announced Saturday that the families of the 16 victims killed in the massive Tennessee explosives plant blast have been informed, News.Az reports citing the CNN.
🚩A powerful #explosion at the #AccurateEnergeticSystems plant in #Tennessee completely destroyed the facility and killed 16 people.
— News.Az (@news_az) October 12, 2025
This was reported by the Associated Press.
Witnesses said the blast was so powerful that it shook homes within a 20-kilometer radius. One local… pic.twitter.com/kfP8vwQ7zs
No one has been found alive in the search and investigators are working through the scene foot by foot, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said.
“At this time, we have not located any survivors, and we are making the assumption that all are deceased at this point,” he said Saturday evening.
Earlier, officials thought 18 people were missing because their vehicles and personal items were at the facility, but they were later able to locate two people off site, officials said.
“We’re moving to recovery,” Davis said with emotion during a news conference one day after the blast, his voice trailing off at times.
“As we get into this, we find it even more devastating than what we thought initially,” he added.
Early Friday, the thundering blast at Accurate Energetic Systems reverberated across a tight-knit community, razing an entire building on the plant’s sprawling campus.
For some, it brought back painful memories of past disasters that swept the area.
“Both our counties was hit pretty hard in ’21,” Davis said as he choked up during a news conference Saturday night. He appeared to refer to widespread flooding that hit Humphreys County, killing 20 people in the city of Waverly and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.
“We’ve already taken plans to prepare to take care of our loved ones and our families even more,” he said.
Counseling will be provided at schools starting Monday to help families involved, he said.
Melissa Dawn Stanford, a 53-year-old production supervisor at the plant, is believed to have died, her niece, Brittany Kirouac, told CNN in a statement Saturday. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation informed Kirouac they don’t believe her aunt could have survived, she said.
“To say our family is devastated is to put it lightly. We are honestly at a loss for words and grief is not linear. In the past 24 hours I have seen: anger, sadness, bargaining, denial, and acceptance,” Kirouac said.
“Not only from our family, but from the families who surrounded us waiting to hear news about their loved ones,” she continued. “At this time, we are just hoping to bring her home to say goodbye.”
Kirouac asked for prayers as her family, like so many others, attempts to “navigate these coming days, weeks, and months.”
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