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.
They grew up together - we were in each other's homes, she said. It's just surreal, because she's gone and her babies are hurting, referring to the victim's children and grandchildren.
Local police have not publicly identified any of the unaccounted-for victims, who authorities presume have all been killed.
The town had been holding out hope for good news after the explosion on Friday morning shook homes across the area, but with no signs of survivors, officials have shifted to a recovery strategy.
At some point in time, we have got to rip off the Band-Aid, said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis. We are dealing with remains. The cause of the blast is under investigation, with federal investigators expecting to take as long as a month to reach the main site.
As the community cleanses the emotional wounds of loss, residents remember the loved ones taken too soon, and face the uncertainty of their future without them.
