Authorities identify 16 victims in Tennessee munitions factory explosion

Donald Yowell, right, was a chemist at AES.

Law enforcement officials have identified the 16 victims who died in an explosion at a munitions plant in the state of Tennessee.

The names were released during a press briefing on Monday outside Accurate Energetic Systems in Hickman County, where an early-morning blast levelled a company building on 10 October. There were no survivors.

Sheriffs Chris Davis of Humphreys County and Jason Craft of Hickman County alternated reading the victims' names and emphasised a "need to take care" of their families at this time.

No cause of the blast has been identified. Agents from the national Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are investigating.

The victims are Jason Adams, Erick Anderson, Billy Baker, Adam Boatman, Christopher Clark, Mindy Clifton, James Cook, Reyna Gillahan, LaTeisha Mays, Jeremy Moore, Melinda Rainey, Melissa Stanford, Trenton Stewart, Rachel Woodall, Steven Wright and Donald Yowell.

The sheriffs said the individuals are presumed dead, and the release of their names does not mean their remains have been identified. That process is ongoing.

Reyna Gillahan

Sheriff Davis said that one victim was a teacher, another was his neighbour's husband and another one was one of his best friends, according to local newspaper, The Tennessean.

The sheriff had previously described the blast as one of the most devastating incidents of his career.

Authorities originally feared that 18 people had died, but two people thought to be on site were later located elsewhere.

Sheriff Davis said that while he may not have known all of the victims personally, he knows their family members or extended family members.

The tragedy has hit hard in the close-knit town, where cell service is spotty and a gas station - adorned with a Confederate flag centrepiece - is the local watering hole.

Over the weekend, after nearly two days with little sign of survivors - and an explosion site still considered dangerous for first responders - the once-optimistic Sheriff Davis said the time had come to switch to a recovery strategy over a rescue strategy.

The plant in Bucksnort, Tennessee - roughly 56 miles (90km) south-west of Nashville - specialises in the development, manufacture, handling and storage of explosives.

Aerial video from the scene showed charred debris, smouldering vehicles and little remaining of the facility but rubble.

Resident Jerri Newcombe told the BBC that her friend of more than 20 years, Reyna Gillahan, was among the victims. The two met when her granddaughter and Gillahan's daughter became close as little girls.

"They grew up together - we were in each other's homes," she said at a weekend vigil. "We celebrated birthdays together. It's just surreal, because she's gone and her babies are hurting."

Mrs Gillahan's daughter said on Facebook that her death is an "unimaginable loss."

"She was a beautiful soul — loving, strong, and always thinking of others before herself," Rosalina Gillahan wrote. In another post, she wrote simply, "We love you mama".

According to WellSpring Christian Church, Mr Yowell was a chemist at AES and lived in the nearby city of Waverly with his wife and son.

They "were long-time WellSpringers before moving to Waverly a few years ago," the church said in a Facebook post. "Please lift them up in your prayers."

Tiffany Story told the BBC that she used to babysit one of the victims, Rachel Woodall.

"Everybody knows everybody here," Mrs Story said. "With everybody being so close, it's very comforting to have family. That's what we are - whether [by] blood, not blood, this whole community is family."

With additional reporting by Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu in Tennessee.