Explosion at Bucksnort-area Tennessee explosives plant kills several

A powerful explosion ripped through an explosives manufacturing plant near Bucksnort, Tennessee, on Friday morning, killing multiple people and leaving others unaccounted for as secondary blasts forced rescuers to hold back from the burning site, officials said. The blast occurred just before 8 a.m. local time at Accurate Energetic Systems, a firm that makes and tests explosives at an eight building facility that stretches across wooded hills about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told reporters that several people remained unaccounted for and that some were deceased. "We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation. We do have some that are deceased," he said. Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said emergency crews initially could not enter the plant because detonations continued at the scene.

Video and photographs from the area showed a debris field with heavy smoke and flames rising from the site and damaged vehicles in a parking lot. Residents miles away reported feeling the blast and described homes shaking. "I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,"...