McEWEN, Tenn. — A blast that leveled an explosives plant Friday in rural Tennessee left 19 people missing and feared dead, authorities said.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said the blast at Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies the military, was one of worst scenes he's seen. He did not specify how many people were killed but referred to the 19 missing as "souls" and said officials were still speaking to family.

The company's website says it makes and tests explosives at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, and the investigation could take days, the sheriff said.

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