By JONATHAN MATTISE and OBED LAMY
McEWEN, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities on Monday identified the 16 people killed in a devastating blast at a rural Tennessee explosives plant last week, as investigators promised a painstaking process to figure out what happened by tracking down pieces of evidence that may now be miles apart.
At a news conference, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said people in the tight-knit community probably at least knew relatives of the victims killed in the explosion Friday at the plant owned by Accurate Energetic Systems. The company supplies and researches explosives for the military and is a well-known employer in the area.
“It’s just small county, rural America, where everybody knows each other and everybody’s gonna take care of each other,” Davis said.
Victims mourned
Even as people turned to Sunday worship services to process their grief, one congregation was mourning the loss of their pastor in the explosion.
Trent Stewart was the pastor at The Log Church in Waverly, where Sunday school and worship was canceled this weekend and replaced with a time of prayer in the sanctuary, the church’s associate pastor, Charlie Musick, posted on social media.
The church hosted a “packed out house” Sunday, Stewart’s fiance, Katy Stover, said on social media.
“I know this would have absolutely thrilled Trent,” she wrote. “We appreciate everyone who came and we hope everyone will join us again next Sunday. It brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes to see how many people showed up to honor Trent and all the other families.”
She wrote in a prior post that Stewart made her “laugh until I couldn’t breathe and he was truly my best friend, my soulmate, and my person.”
Reyna Gillahan, another victim, had dreamed of paying off her home and keeping it in the family, so her daughter, Rosalina Gillahan, began fundraising after the explosion. It was one of several fundraisers for families who lost loved ones.
“She was a beautiful soul — loving, strong, and always thinking of others before herself,” Rosalina Gillahan posted on social media about her mother.
The sheriffs of Humphreys and Hickman counties read off the names of the victims at Monday’s news conference. The others were: Jason Adams; Billy Baker; Christopher Clark; James Cook; LaTeisha Mays; Melinda Rainey; Steven Wright; Erick Anderson; Adam Boatman; Mindy Clifton; Jeremy Moore; Melissa Stafford; Rachel Woodall; and Donald Yowell.
The task to investigate the cause
The initial blast was felt for more than 20 miles, leaving a smoldering wreck of twisted and charred metal and burned-out vehicles at the plant. Authorities said there were no survivors.
Authorities said they are working to clear the area of hazards, including explosives, and to identify remains.
Once the area is clear, authorities can start investigating what caused the explosion, said Matthew Belew, acting special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Some of the relevant evidence is spread out over miles, Belew said.
“It’s almost like putting a puzzle back together,” Belew said. “We have worked closely with AES to know to look at pictures, look at blueprints, any of the identifying things that were in the building. And then we slowly methodically start to put some of that stuff together.”
Company has big presence in rural area
Accurate Energetic Systems’ 1,300-acre complex in a heavily wooded area of middle Tennessee is made up of eight different specialized production buildings and a lab. It straddles the Hickman and Humphreys county line in unincorporated Bucksnort, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. It employs 115 people, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
An entry level job at Accurate Energetic Systems pays between $19 and $21 an hour depending on which shift a worker is on, according to a job ad the company posted last month. The jobs require only a high school diploma and some mechanical aptitude, making them better paid than jobs with similar education requirements.
Vincent Coates, who is a deacon at the Maple Valley Baptist Church about three miles from the explosion, said he’s always heard good things about working at Accurate.
Most people who live in the area must drive to another town for work, so the company was a good option, he said.
“If you don’t want to travel very far, that was one of the better paying jobs that was pretty close and be able to stay within driving distance of the house. And not have to spend 45 minutes on the interstate getting to Franklin or an hour getting to Nashville,” Coates said.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said avoiding a long commute would have made the job more attractive, plus the pay may have been higher because of the nature of the work.
“When you put it all together, those jobs were pretty desirable in the sense that those workers should have been compensated for the danger there,” Goss said.
Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska.
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