Multiple people have been killed and others are missing after an explosion at a Tennessee military munitions plant.

Secondary explosions have forced rescuers back from the burning site at Accurate Energetic Systems, according to the Hickman County Sheriff’s Office.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told a news conference: “We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation.”

The cause of the blast, which occurred at 7.45am on Friday (1.45pm in the UK) was not immediately known.

Video from the scene showed flames and smoke billowing from a field of debris.

Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing explosions, Hickman County Advanced MT David Stewart said.

According to its website, Accurate Energetic Systems manufactures products for the defence, aerospace, demolition, and oil and gas industries

It adds that the company makes and tests explosives at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills near Bucksnort, a town about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.

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