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

The total number of dead was unclear, as was the cause of the Friday blast. By the weekend the devastation came into focus, with officials saying they’d found no survivors.

“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.

State officials brought in a “rapid DNA” team to help identify the remains of people recovered at the site. The explosion left a smoldering wreck of twisted metal and burned-out vehicles at the Accurate Energ

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