In Bucksnort, Tennessee, residents have spent a chilly autumn night heeding a simple message spraypainted on a concrete barrier by the side of the road: Pray for the AES families.
Community members gathered on Saturday for a candlelit vigil outside the Maple Valley Baptist Church after a blast at local explosives factory Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) left 16 people presumed dead.
This community of Hickman and Humphreys Counties is not huge, so that's a lot of people to lose in an instant, Deacon Danny Bates said to the approximately 40 attendees, who comforted each other and sang hymns such as It Is Well With My Soul.
It was just another day at work, and then in an instant, they were gone. We have unanswered questions.
Vigil-goer Jerri Newcombe said her friend of more than 20 years was among the victims. The two met when Newcombe's granddaughter and the victim's daughter became close as little girls.
Local police have not publicly identified any of the unaccounted-for victims, who authorities presume have all been killed.
Bucksnort is a close-knit town where cell service is spotty, and a gas station—adorned with a Confederate flag centerpiece—is the local watering hole, residents say. This tragedy has hit the area hard as the community mourns family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
But after nearly two days with no sign of survivors, Sheriff Chris Davis mentioned the need to shift from a rescue to a recovery strategy. The cause of the blast is yet to be determined, as federal investigations are underway.
