16 people died in a blast at a Tennessee explosives factory early Friday, the sheriff says

McEWEN, Tenn. (AP) — A blast in rural Tennessee that leveled an explosives plant and was felt for miles around killed 16 people and left no survivors, authorities said.

The explosion left a smoldering wreck of twisted and charred metal and burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant, which supplies and researches explosives for the military.

The cause of the blast is not known. Investigators are combing the incinerated property foot-by-foot searching for possible evidence.

“There’s a gauntlet of emotions there,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said during a news conference, pausing to clear his throat before he asked for prayers for the families of the victims in a shaky voice.

“We’ve recovered no survivors,” he added.

During a vigil at Hurricane Chapel in McEwen, senior pastor Tim Farris noted that many in attendance know each other, the victims and their families.

“There’s a lot of people hurting. A lot of people who are crying a lot of tears,” he said. “We are sad that our community is going through this, but it’s a tremendous opportunity for the church to minister to a lot of those people today.”

Farris said he spoke with some families of victims on Friday who were in shock and numb, and they did not show much emotion. That had changed by Saturday, he said.

“Speaking with some of the families today, they were very emotional,” Farris said. “They can hardly speak or anything, they are so emotional. I think as this goes on, it’s going to hit more people. The depth of this, the reality of it. That’s when they’re going to need people the most.”

Pamela Jane Brown was among those who came out to pray for friends missing in the blast and their families. She said an acquaintance of her family was driving by the plant when it exploded, and he was “hurt pretty good ... all cut up and bruised,” but is now recovering at home.

“I was heartbroken,” she said, after learning of the explosion on social media. Meeting others for prayer “was a coming together of the community – a good feeling.”

State officials brought in a “rapid DNA” team to help identify the remains of people recovered at the site.

Davis said about 300 responders are working in a “slow, methodical method” as they deal with explosive material that has been damaged and remains volatile. An ambulance and a helicopter used for air evacuations were brought in, for the safety of first responders.

“It’s not like working an accident. It’s not like working a tornado. We’re dealing with explosions. And I would say at this time, we’re dealing with remains,” he said.

Guy McCormick, a supervisory special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said explosive specialists and bomb technicians are trying to make the area safe for national ATF investigators. He said the nature of the scene can change because of the heat and pressure caused by the explosion.

Davis said it could be days, weeks or even months before foul play is ruled out.

The site is located in a heavily wooded area of middle Tennessee, between the economically vital Tennessee River to the west and the bustling metropolis of Nashville to the east. Modest homes dot the wooded landscape, residences belonging to “good old country people,” as local man Terry Bagsby put it.

Bagsby, 68, is retired but he helps out working the register at a gas station near the site. He said people in the close-knit community are “very, very sad.”

He said he knows people who worked at the site.

“I don’t know how to explain it. … Just a lot of grief.”

Officials at an evening news conference said counselors would be available for grieving students on Monday.

Earlier Saturday afternoon at the church in McEwen, about 30 people gathered to pray for victims of the explosion and their families. Music played and mourners bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Some knelt at an altar, placing their hands on each others’ backs and shoulders. Some wept softly, among the whispered prayers.

After the vigil, Farris, the pastor, told media that the area has seen its share of tragedy and loss of life, including a deadly flood a few years ago. He asked for prayers for first responders.

“This is tiresome physically. This kind of thing weighs on you mentally. They carry that home. They need prayer and encouragement as well,” he said.

The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville. It is not immediately known how many people work at the plant or how many were there when the explosion happened.

Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a post on social media on Friday that the company's “thoughts and prayers" are with the families and community impacted.

“We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions,” the post said.

The company has been awarded numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply different types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. The products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C4.

When the explosion occurred, residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake, and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.

The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.

“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he told The Associated Press. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee posted on the social platform X that he is monitoring the situation and asked “Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident.”

A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night at a nearby park, clutching candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang “Amazing Grace."

The U.S. has a long history of deadly accidents at workplaces, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped lead President Richard Nixon to sign a law creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the next year.

In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of policies meant to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to citations from OSHA.

In 2014, an explosion occurred at another ammunition facility in the same small community, killing one person and injuring at least three others.

Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Sarah Brumfield, in Cockeysville, Maryland; Hannah Schoenbaum, in Salt Lake City; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

Tim Farris, Hurricane Chapel senior pastor, speaks to the press after a vigil at his church in McEwen, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, for victims of a blast that leveled an explosives plant. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

Tim Farris, Hurricane Chapel senior pastor, speaks to the press after a vigil at his church in McEwen, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, for victims of a blast that leveled an explosives plant. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

Janie Brown, 64, a resident of McEwen, Tenn. speaks to a journalist after the vigil held at Hurricane Chapel in McEwen, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, for victims of a blast that leveled an explosives plant. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

A sign is displayed near the site of an explosion at a explosives manufacturing plant about 60 miles southwest of Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

Family members gather at Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosive plant, after a blast on Friday resulted in multiple fatalities and several missing on Saturday, Oct 11, 2025, in Bucksnort, Tenn. (AP photo/ Obed Lamy)

Family members gather at Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosive plant, after a blast on Friday resulted in multiple fatalities and several missing on Saturday, Oct 11, 2025, in Bucksnort, Tenn. (AP photo/ Obed Lamy)

Residents attend a vigil honoring the victims of a blast at an explosives plant, Accurate Energetic Systems, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Centerville Tenn. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)

A person attaches a hose to a fire hydrant to fill a tanker truck after a blast resulted in multiple fatalities and others missing at Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosives plant, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Bucksnort, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Smoke fills the air as debris covers the ground and vehicles after a powerful blast ripped through a military explosives manufacturing plant in Hickman County, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (WTVF-TV via AP)

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, right, stands next to Hickman County Sheriff J. Craft as they address the press during a news conference at Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosives plant, after a blast resulted in multiple fatalities and others missing Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Bucksnort, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Smoke fills the air as debris covers the ground and vehicles after a powerful blast ripped through a military explosives manufacturing plant in Hickman County, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (WTVF-TV via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.

Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.

“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”

Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.

The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on Thursday afternoon.

U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.

In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.

Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”

The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.

Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)