McEWEN, Tenn. — The 16 victims of the massive Tennessee explosion at a plant that made explosives for the military have been identified.
The victims of the explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems manufacturing plant are all presumed dead, WSMV reported.
- Jason Adams, 52
- Erick Anderson, 44
- Billy Baker, 59
- Adam Boatman, 21
- Christopher Clark, 60
- Mindy Clifton, 51
- James Cook, 56
- Reyna Gillahan, 50
- LaTeisha Mays, 26
- Jeremy Moore, 37
- Melinda Rainey, 57
- Melissa Stanford, 52
- Trenton Stewart, 25
- Rachel Woodall, 28
- Steven Wright, 53
- Donald Yowell, 58
“We may not have known that individual personally, but in some form or fashion, we probably, or do, know their family or extended family. And it’s this small county, rural America, where everybody knows each other and everybody’s only going to take care of each other,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said, according to CNN.
But WSMV noted that just because the names have been released, it does not mean that their remains have been identified. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is using DNA technology to identify remains that are recovered as the probe into what caused the explosion continues.
In addition to the TBI, the FBI and other agencies are at the site, CNN reported.
The blast was described as a “mass detonation” that was so strong that it caused seismic readings hundreds of miles from the explosion’s center. It registered as a 1.6 magnitude earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Accurate Energetic Systems was located on 1,300 acres in a heavily wooded area in McEwen, Tennessee.
The Associated Press said it had eight specialized production buildings and a lab. It had employed 115 people.
Accurate Energetic Systems had been fined by the federal government in 2019 after an inspection found violations concerning personal protective equipment, employee exposure to contaminants and inadequate safety training. The company had to pay a $7,200 fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
It also had 46 work-related injuries but no deaths since 2016, which is the oldest records available.
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