Summary

  • Nineteen people are missing after a huge blast at an explosives plant in Tennessee, officials say

  • Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, visibly emotional as he says how may are missing, says there is no short-term explanation as to what happened, and the Bureau of ATF and FBI are "handling the scene"

  • Aerial video from the scene in Bucksnort, south-west of Nashville, shows charred debris, smouldering vehicles and little remaining of the facility

  • The explosion just before 08:00 local time was heard from miles away including in neighbouring counties

  • There is a huge emergency response at the scene, with one first responder telling the Associated Press they could not enter the site initially due to continuing detonations

  • The factory belongs to Accurate Energetic Systems, which specialises in the development, manufacture, handling, and storage of explosives

  1. Nineteen missing after Tennessee munitions factory explosionpublished at 22:41 BST 10 October

    A man crying surroudned by journalistsImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Chris Davis was visibly emotional as he addressed reporters in the aftermath of the explosion

    With 19 people still unaccounted for and at least four having received hospital treatment, questions remain about the exact cause of the ammunitions plant explosion in Tennessee.

    Speaking to reporters, Sheriff Chris Davis described the scene as "one of the most devastating" sites he'd ever seen, adding "there's nothing to describe, it's gone." He said there's a half square mile of debris from the explosion.

    Families are grieving and and experiencing a "gauntlet of emotion", Davis said.

    Davis has warned that investigations may take some time while multiple agencies involved work together to figure out what happened.

    We're pausing our live coverage for now, but you can keep up with developments in our news story.

  2. Who is responsible for regulating the explosives industry in the US?published at 22:28 BST 10 October

    The back of a jacket of a worker for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - with the letters ATF emblazoned across in orangeImage source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

    We heard earlier from Sheriff Chris Davis that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is one of the agencies on site "handling the scene”.

    The ATF is a federal agency that regulates the US explosives industry and investigates crimes relating to explosives.

    One of its jobs is to protect the public from unsafe or unsecure storage of explosive materials - which it does through regular inspections.

    Companies are required by the ATF to have a licence if they want to import, manufacture or distribute explosive materials, and they need permits if they want to transport explosives.

    According to its website, 9,309 bodies currently hold federal explosive licences - and they work across two main sectors: explosives and fireworks.

  3. 'We just heard a loud bang', local resident recounts moment the explosion happenedpublished at 22:13 BST 10 October

    Brandon Drenon
    US reporter

    When a series of explosions went off at the weapons facility in McEwen, Tennessee, early on Friday morning, roughly 20 minutes from Monica Coblentz’s house, she was sat at her daughter's dining table.

    "All of a sudden we just a heard a loud bang. We didn’t know if it was a gun or what," she tells me.

    She then sprinted outside.

    "Our dog started having a cow. We were afraid he had got hit by something or another," Coblentz says, adding that the dog was ultimately "fine".

    "We weren't sure what happened."

    Coblentz says she only found out what the noise was after later receiving a phone call from her son-in-law who is a volunteer member of the local rescue squad.

  4. Tennessee plant awarded $120m contract for TNT last monthpublished at 22:06 BST 10 October

    Accurate Energetic Systems was awarded a $120 million (£90,200,000) contract by the Department of Defense to procure the explosive TNT last month.

    Federal explosives investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are currently on the scene and are investigating what the cause of today's incident was.

  5. What we know so far about the explosives plant explosion, and what we don'tpublished at 21:48 BST 10 October

    Three police officers stand outside the gate to the the Accurate Energetic Systems military explosives plant. They stand behind a police car which reads Tennessee state trooper on the door.Image source, Reuters

    Since we received that update from Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis earlier, we know a little more - but there are still many unanswered questions surrounding the explosion.

    What we know now

    What we still don't know

    • How many people have died, and the identities of any of the victims
    • What the cause of the explosion was
    • While Sheriff Davis says the scene is "secure", we still don't have details on if a fire is still burning there, or a timeline for the clean-up of the site

  6. Facility was 'fairly significant', Nashville reporter sayspublished at 21:34 BST 10 October

    Cynthia Abrams, a reporter for WPLN News in Nashville, tells the BBC that the explosion was "sizable", with some residents she spoke to some 27 miles (43.4km) away from the site feeling and hearing it at home.

    The facility is around 1,300 acres and has done "around $100m worth of business on federal contracts over the last two decades", which she explains is "fairly significant".

    Abrams adds that an investigation lead by Hickman County and the neighbouring Humphrey County, which involves the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security, will take place.

  7. Aerial video shows scene of devastationpublished at 21:25 BST 10 October

    We can now bring you aerial footage showing the scene of devastation after a blast at a Tennessee explosives plant.

  8. Raw materials usually to blame when things with explosives go wrong - ballistics expertpublished at 21:16 BST 10 October

    Freya Scott-Turner
    Live reporter

    Usually when things go wrong with explosives, it’s with the raw materials says Dr Chris Shepherd at the University of Kent.

    "Once explosives are formed into their final product, they're actually very stable and very safe" he says.

    Shepherd explains how explosives are manufactured: "We take the very sensitive, volatile explosives and we add lots of things to it, that we often refer to as stabilisers".

    These final products can be stored for years, or even decades "very safely," he tells me.

    He gives examples like nitrous cellulose or Trinitrotoluene (TNT), that once formed are "very heat and flame stable... it takes a lot to make these things detonate and explode".

    But in their raw form "they're really quite dangerous".

    Shepherd isn't aware of a huge number of incidents like this, he says, adding that "modern manufacturing standards in all countries are very strict these days".

  9. BBC Verify

    Previous fatal explosion at Tennessee sitepublished at 21:07 BST 10 October

    By Nick Beake

    We’ve been looking into details of a blast in 2014 at the same location.

    Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis has just confirmed this took place at a unit which was being operated by a company called Rio Ammunition.

    Earlier, Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates described the 2014 incident as a "small ammunition explosion".

    Reports from eleven years ago say one man was killed and three injured in that blast.

    The Tennessean newspaper, Reuters news agency and industry publications reported that a preliminary investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined the blast was accidental.

    An ATF spokesman was quoted at the time as saying the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) would start its own investigation to examine whether there were any safety violations at the plant.

    We cannot find what the results of that probe were.

    Multiple media outlets reported Rio Ammunition’s parent company saying in 2014 that the blast occurred during shotgun cartridge loading operations.

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  10. Patients being treated for ‘minor injuries’ at nearby hospitalspublished at 20:58 BST 10 October

    Brandon Drenon
    US reporter

    Casey Stapp, director of media relations at TriStar Health in nearby Dickson, Tennessee, says two walk-in patients were treated for "minor injuries" from today's explosion and have been released.

    A third walk-in patient, she tells me, is still being treated for minor injuries.

    Local news reports that patients are also being treated at other hospitals in the area.

    At the news conference earlier, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said four or five victims of the explosion were evacuated to a hospital.

  11. Emotional sheriff confirms 19 people missing following explosives plant blastpublished at 20:52 BST 10 October

    We've just heard from Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis - here's a quick recap of what he said:

    • An emotional Davis confirmed authorities are searching for 19 people after the explosion at an explosives plant in Tennessee - adding that four or five people had been medically evacuated to hospital, but declined to say how many had died
    • He called the scene "one of the most devastating" sites he'd ever seen. "There's nothing to describe, it's gone," he told reporters
    • The cause of the explosion remains unclear, he said, but he confirmed the business was open at the time of the explosion
    • Davis added that he expects that officers will remain on the scene for a number of days, with a number of teams - including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - trying to figure out what happened

    Another update is scheduled for later on Friday.

  12. Next official update expected in 90 minutespublished at 20:35 BST 10 October

    Sheriff Chris Davis says investigators may still be at the scene next week, and they'll be slow and methodical.

    "We're getting information as we go," he says, adding there will be another update at 16:00 local time (22:00 BST).

    With this, the news briefing is now over.

  13. Four or five people taken to hospitalpublished at 20:28 BST 10 October

    Sheriff Chris Davis has declined to say exactly how many people have died, responding to the question: "I can tell you right now that we're looking for 19 individuals.

    "A lot of times, when I have these types of situations, I refer to them more than just a person... we're missing 19 souls."

    Davis says four or five people were medically evacuated to a nearby hospital.

  14. Accurate Energetics System pauses operation - sheriffpublished at 20:26 BST 10 October

    Humphreys County Sheriff Chris DavisImage source, Reuters

    The sheriff now turns to Accurate Energetic Systems, the company that runs the factory.

    They have stopped operations, Davis says.

    "They are focusing on their families, their employees," he says.

  15. Bomb squad at the scenepublished at 20:25 BST 10 October

    Davis says he expects that they'll be on the scene for days.

    He adds that they've got a "bomb squad" there, along with several other agencies working together to make "the very best team effort that we can to move forward".

    He asks people to remember the families of those affected, adding that's where "thoughts and prayers need to go right now".

  16. Cause of explosion remains unclearpublished at 20:24 BST 10 October

    The sheriff says the scene is secure, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and FBI helping and "handling the scene" as everyone tries to work out what caused the explosion.

    "Do I see a short term explanation? No," he says.

  17. Authorities searching for 19 peoplepublished at 20:23 BST 10 October
    Breaking

    Media caption,

    Watch: Sheriff emotional as he confirms 19 people missing in explosion

    The news briefing has begun.

    Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis confirms authorities are searching for 19 people.

    He is highly emotional, saying this is probably "one of the most devastating" sites they've seen.

    "I ask you to keep in mind those families," he says.

  18. News briefing to begin shortlypublished at 20:09 BST 10 October
    Breaking

    An update from local authorities about the explosives facility blast is expected shortly.

    We'll bring you all the key points as soon as it starts. You can also Watch live at the top of the page.

  19. Energy provider working to restore powerpublished at 20:06 BST 10 October

    Here's an update from the local electricity provider.

    "We are working with emergency officials to restore electric and broadband service to our members as safely as possible," Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative says in a statement.

    "Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted. We ask everyone to avoid the area and allow first responders to work."