Several people killed as huge explosion rips through Tennessee military explosives factory

Law enforcement officers guard a door outside the Accurate Energetic Systems military explosives factory, after an explosion at the facility in Bucksnort, Tennessee, U.S., October 10, 2025, in a still image from video. -Reuters
  • Agencies including the FBI and ATF are investigating the cause of the explosion.
  • Aerial images show debris and ash at the site.
  • The company manufactures military demolition explosives.

Several people are dead and several others are missing after an explosion in Tennessee at a military explosives company, CNN and other media outlets reported Friday, citing local officials.

The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, about 50 miles west of Nashville, occurred at 7:45 a.m. local time (12:45 GMT), Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said at a news conference.

Davis said there had been several deaths, but it was still too early to know precisely how many people had died, saying it was still possible there were survivors.

When asked to describe the building where the explosion occurred, Davis responded, “There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone.”

Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene trying to determine the cause of the explosion, Davis said.

Aerial video broadcast on CNN showed what appeared to be the footprint of where a building once stood.

In an adjacent parking lot, debris and what appeared to be ashes were scattered among some parked vehicles.

Efforts to contact the company were unsuccessful.

Accurate Energetic Systems develops, manufactures and stocks explosives for “the military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets,” according to the company’s website.

The 1,300-acre headquarters in Bucksnort, Tennessee, includes eight production buildings and a quality laboratory.

Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates told CNN the plant has no history of safety issues, although a small munitions explosion occurred there in 2014.

This incident killed one person and injured three, according to The Tennessean newspaper.

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