18 Killed in Tennessee Bomb Factory Explosion

All 18 people missing after a devastating blast leveled a Tennessee bomb factory are presumed dead, officials said Saturday.

“They’ve gone through almost every square inch of this facility. We have recovered no survivors,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said crying, during a heartbreaking Saturday morning update.

Authorities are in the process of identifying the remains with DNA, he added.

“It’s a tremendous loss, a great loss,” Davis said. “We have communities that have been truly devastated.”

“It’s a great loss for our communities,” he repeated. “There’s a gauntlet of emotions there.”

More than 300 emergency crews have been working the scene.

Eighteen people were working in the building at the time of the tragedy

“We can assume they are deceased,” Davis said. “Hope’s always in my heart. But I don’t want to give false hope either … at this time, we’re dealing with remains.”

Officials initially said 19 were missing, but one person believed to be on site was found safe at home, Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency said.

Davis added the cause is still under investigation, and it could be “days or weeks or months” before authorities know what set off the explosion, while foul play is ruled out.

The building, which sits on a remote hilltop, was completely obliterated in the blast. All that remained were smoldering ruins and the charred shells of vehicles.

“There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone,” Davis said at a press conference on the day of the blast. “It’s the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”

Later that night, a small group of people gathered for a vigil at a nearby park.

They clutched candles as they prayed for the victims they still hoped were just missing, while they sang “Amazing Grace.”

The massive explosion was heard just before 8 a.m. that morning at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant west of Nashville.

The factory, which makes and tests explosives for the government, has been awarded several military contracts by the US Army and Navy.

The tragedy happened in a building where explosives are liquified and poured into canisters.

Though the factory is located far away from any homes, the explosion was so powerful that it could be felt by residents more than 20 miles away.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover said, adding he knew right away something happened at the plant. “I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

A single deafening “boom” was heard echoing and shaking the ground through the area when the blast happened.

Reverberations were felt as far as an hour’s drive away, officials said.

Detonations continued for hours, leaving emergency crews initially unable to enter the scene until Friday afternoon.