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MEMPHIS (Reuters) – A blast ripped through an ammunitions plant in southwestern Tennessee on Wednesday, killing one worker and forcing the evacuation of neighboring industrial businesses, authorities said.
The blast at the Kinematics Research plant in Oakland occurred during a midafternoon work shift, said Inspector Ray Garcia of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
Flames from the initial blast touched off ammunition inside the plant, filling it with smoke and endangering adjacent businesses, authorities said.
"The building is completely gone," said Sam McKnight, director of Emergency Medical Services in Fayette County.
One of the nearby businesses had tanks filled with highly combustible materials including oxygen, nitrogen and acetylene, McKnight said.
The fire was so dangerous and the ongoing blasts so unpredictable that firefighters had to back off at one point to protect themselves, he said. The building was reduced to smoldering ashes by late afternoon.
Diane Childress, who with her husband Mark runs American Granite & Marble two buildings away from the munitions plant, said she had just left when he called to tell her about the blast.
"He could hear lots of popping noises," she said. "Just popping and popping. I guess they were bullets detonating. I could hear them when he was talking to me on the phone."
A firefighter also suffered minor injuries and was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, about 30 miles away.
The blast occurred at about 2 p.m. local time in Oakland, located in southwestern Tennessee,
The cause of the explosion was unknown.
The plant makes ammunition that makes bullets for rifles and pistols. There are approximately 60,000 rounds on the site, according to Jeremy Heidt, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in Nashville.
The blast at the Kinematics Research plant in Oakland occurred during a midafternoon work shift, said Inspector Ray Garcia of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
Flames from the initial blast touched off ammunition inside the plant, filling it with smoke and endangering adjacent businesses, authorities said.
"The building is completely gone," said Sam McKnight, director of Emergency Medical Services in Fayette County.
One of the nearby businesses had tanks filled with highly combustible materials including oxygen, nitrogen and acetylene, McKnight said.
The fire was so dangerous and the ongoing blasts so unpredictable that firefighters had to back off at one point to protect themselves, he said. The building was reduced to smoldering ashes by late afternoon.
Diane Childress, who with her husband Mark runs American Granite & Marble two buildings away from the munitions plant, said she had just left when he called to tell her about the blast.
"He could hear lots of popping noises," she said. "Just popping and popping. I guess they were bullets detonating. I could hear them when he was talking to me on the phone."
A firefighter also suffered minor injuries and was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, about 30 miles away.
The blast occurred at about 2 p.m. local time in Oakland, located in southwestern Tennessee,
The cause of the explosion was unknown.
The plant makes ammunition that makes bullets for rifles and pistols. There are approximately 60,000 rounds on the site, according to Jeremy Heidt, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in Nashville.