No survivors expected after deadly Tennessee explosives plant blast

Authorities say no survivors are expected to be found after a massive explosion at a munitions factory in Bucksnort, Tennessee, that left 18 people missing.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told reporters on Saturday that recovery teams have not located any of the missing workers and that the scale of devastation is worse than initially feared.

“As we get into this, we find it even more devastating than we thought initially,” Sheriff Davis said, adding that the operation has now shifted from rescue to recovery.

The explosion occurred on Friday at a facility operated by Accurate Energetic Systems, a company specializing in the development and storage of explosives. The cause of the blast remains under investigation.

Videos from the scene showed fires still burning, smoke billowing into the sky, and debris scattered across a half-mile radius. More than 300 state and local emergency responders have been working at the site since Friday morning.

Sheriff Davis said it is assumed that all who were inside the building at the time of the blast are deceased. The FBI is assisting with rapid DNA testing to identify victims, while officials focus on supporting affected families.

Residents up to 15 miles away reported hearing the powerful explosion. One woman told the BBC that the blast shook her home while she was sitting at her daughter’s dining table.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has joined the investigation into the cause of the explosion.

The site was previously the scene of another fatal explosion in 2014.