PinnedUpdated Oct. 10, 2025, 3:43 p.m. ETA powerful explosion ripped through a central Tennessee ammunition plant early Friday, killing and injuring multiple people, the authorities said. The blast appeared to have leveled part of the facility and left behind a fiery spread of debris.“There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone,” Sheriff Chris Davis of Humphreys County, Tenn., said when asked to describe the remains of the building. He said the extent of the death toll was unclear, but added, “We are missing 19 souls right now.”Officials described a chaotic and volatile situation, with the first early-morning explosion — described by a local sheriff as a “very devastating blast” — triggering a series of smaller blasts. Video from the scene showed the mangled remains of a building, along with scorched vehicles and other debris.The plant is near the border of Hickman and Humphreys Counties, in a rural wooded area just off Interstate 40, roughly 60 miles southwest of Nashville in the central part of the state. The explosion was strong enough to rattle homes at least a dozen miles away and generate a plume of smoke large enough to show up on the weather radar of a Nashville television station.Here’s what else we’re covering:More blasts possible: Sheriff Davis and other officials also said they could not yet discuss what might have caused the explosion. They warned that successive smaller blasts could continue, but said they believed that the risk of more injury and destruction was limited.Plant owner: The facility is operated by Accurate Energetic Systems, a company specializing “in the development, manufacture, handling and storage of a diverse array of energetic products and explosives for military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets,” according to its website.Shock waves: The jolt was so potent that people who lived miles away thought it had happened on their own property. “It was that strong and that loud,” said Lauren Roark, who was just waking up at home in McEwen. One of her children ran into the room saying they could see smoke outside.Plant employees: The company is a significant employer in the region. “We are a rural area, so there are a lot of folks who reside in our town who were employed there,” said Brad Rachford, the mayor of McEwen.Oct. 10, 2025, 3:45 p.m. ETAmong those missing from the plant is Rachel Woodall, who had an early shift this morning. Her boyfriend, Nathan Birchard, said he was standing outside the facility on Friday afternoon, waiting for the authorities to share more information with him and Woodall’s family. Before he drove out to the facility, he wrote a message on Facebook, “I don’t get on here and say much at all, but please pray for my girlfriend.”Oct. 10, 2025, 3:41 p.m. ETChristopher HippensteelSheriff Chris Davis said efforts to reach the center of the wreckage at the ammunition plant will likely be a slow process. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’re here next week,” he said.Oct. 10, 2025, 3:34 p.m. ETThe explosion at the ammunition plant occurred at 7:45 a.m. Central time, Sheriff Chris Davis of Humphreys County said. He added that authorities are working to notify the families of all of the missing employees.Oct. 10, 2025, 3:34 p.m. ETThe road leading to Accurate Energetic Systems, a munitions plant in McEwen, Tenn., where an explosion occurred on Friday.Credit...Brett Carlsen/Getty ImagesAn explosion on Friday at a Tennessee munitions plant was so powerful that it rattled homes at least a dozen miles away and generated a plume of smoke large enough to show up on the weather radar of a Nashville television station.Lauren Roark was just waking up at home in McEwen when one of her children ran into the room saying there was smoke outside.“Sure enough, you could see gray smoke everywhere,” Ms. Roark said. It crossed her mind that the smoke could be from someone burning leaves.“Then, I could see it was debris floating down, and it’s all over our yard,” she said, adding, “Singed and burned. It looks like insulation.”Trisha Spicer, who lives more than a dozen miles away, in Lobelville, said she could not believe that what she felt came from the plant.“I thought that our propane tank on our grill blew up,” she said. “We thought something exploded right outside of our house.”Oct. 10, 2025, 3:31 p.m. ETSheriff Davis said that the scene was secure, and the cause of the explosion is currently being investigated by multiple agencies, including the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Credit...Brett Carlsen/Getty ImagesOct. 10, 2025, 3:28 p.m. ETChris Davis, the sheriff of Humphreys County, said the scene of the explosion was “one of the most devastating situations I’ve been on in my career.” He said the cause of the blast was still under investigation. When asked to describe the state of building at the center of the explosion, he said: “There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone.”Oct. 10, 2025, 3:25 p.m. ETThere are 19 people missing after an explosion at a Tennessee ammunition plant, said Chris Davis, the Humphreys County sheriff, at a news conference. Davis said “there are fatalities” but did not specify how many.Oct. 10, 2025, 3:07 p.m. ETState Representative Jody Barrett, a Republican, said many of his constituents work at the munitions plant, which provides high-paying jobs in the rural area. “It’s a big part of our economy,” he said. Barrett lives about 15 miles from the plant. On Friday morning, he said, he felt his house rattle from the explosion.Oct. 10, 2025, 3:06 p.m. ETAva Hinson said she last saw her son, Jeremy Moore, on Friday morning, when he dropped off his daughter with her before going to work at the munitions plant in Tennessee. Henson said her son had been working there for nearly two decades. “We don’t know where he is,” she said.