The manufacturing plant in rural Tennessee rocked by a deadly explosion Friday is owned by a company that manufactures, stores and researches explosives for the military, aerospace and commercial demolition industries, according to the company’s website.
Multiple people were killed and an untold number were missing, authorities said.
The explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems’ plant shook houses miles away and rescuers were forced to wait out secondary blasts. The company website said it manufactures, stores and researches explosives for the military, aerospace and commercial demolition industries.
The company's eight-building facility in the wooded hill near the town Bucksnort, some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville, sits on 1,300 acres where munitions and explosives are made, researched and tested for the velocity of the blasts, the company's website says.
Aerial footage of the aftermath by WTVF-TV showed that the blast appears to have turned one of the facility's buildings into a smoldering wreck.
The company sells explosive products for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from structural demolition to strategic defense operations. Some of the products listed for sale are designed by the U.S. military and approved for use for “foreign military units, police forces and commercial customers.”
Public records show that Accurate Energetic Systems has been awarded numerous military contracts going back years to manufacture a different types of munitions and explosives.
The contracts, which were awarded largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, were for a variety of products that ranged from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges.
The company also uses the sprawling campus to test explosives, according to its website, measuring the velocity of explosions as well as their impact on surrounding areas under different conditions. The website noted that it “rigorously adheres to the stringent security standards” of defense department security and safety protocols.
Officials at Pentagon said that they were aware of the reports and were looking into the situation.
