(MCEWEN, Tenn.) -- 
 

Multiple people are dead following a "devastating blast" at an explosives manufacturing plant in Tennessee on Friday, according to authorities.

The explosion occurred Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems in McEwen, located about 50 miles west of Nashville.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis confirmed there are "some" fatalities, though he did not provide a specific number. Nineteen people are unaccounted for in the blast, he said.

"It's probably been one of the most devastating situations that I've been on in my career," Davis said during a press update Friday afternoon, getting emotional.

"I always wish for the best. Is there a possibility that somebody might be injured somewhere, or somebody that we don't know about? Yes," he later said regarding the missing individuals.

Four to five people were brought to hospitals, according to the sheriff, who did not detail their injuries.

Asked to describe the building where the explosion occurred, he said, "There's nothing to describe. It's gone."

Davis said during an earlier briefing that this is a "very big investigation."

"This is not going to be something that we're going to be like a car wreck or something like that, that we're just going to clean up the debris and leave. We're going to probably be here for a few days," he said.

"We're trying to take as much time as is needed right now. We're prioritizing people that are involved, their families and trying to be very compassionate toward them," he continued.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are among the agencies that have responded to the scene, Davis said.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Accurate Energetic Systems is "cooperating with us in any way, in every way possible," Davis said. 

"They're wanting to figure out this just as much as we are," he added.

Accurate Energetic Systems manufactures explosives and energetic devices for the military, aerospace, demolition and mining industries, according to its website.

Its customers include the Defense Department and Homeland Security, according to the Association of the United States Army.

The explosion occurred at 7:48 a.m. local time and destroyed one of the facility's buildings, officials said.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he is monitoring the "tragic incident."

Video from a Nest camera at a home in Lobelville, about 11 miles from the plant, captured shaking as an explosion can be heard. 

A McEwen resident who lives several miles from the plant said she felt her whole house shake.

"It felt like our house had some kind of explosion," Lauren Roark told ABC News. "I jumped out of bed, asked my husband, 'What was that?'"

Roark found what she believes to be debris from the explosion in her yard -- "big chunks of insulation-looking stuff" -- which she reported to authorities.

Kadi Arnold, who also lives in McEwan, told ABC News she would sometimes hear explosions from the plant, which is about 4 miles from her home, but "knew this one wasn't normal."

"The explosion was so loud and shook my home, I literally thought the back of my house had exploded," she said.

"Once I realized it wasn't my home, I immediately knew something terrible had happened at AES," she said, adding the community is in "shock."

"We're a pretty tight-knit community and we're all just devastated and heartbroken," she said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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