US law enforcement officials have identified the 16 people who were killed in a blast that levelled a munitions factory in the state of Tennessee.

The names were released during a news briefing on Monday outside Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) in Hickman County, where an early morning blast on 10 October left no survivors.

Sheriffs Chris Davis of Humphreys County and Jason Craft of Hickman County alternated reading the victims’ names and emphasised a “need to take care” of their families in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The cause of the blast is still unclear. Agents from the national Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are investigating.

The victims were named as Jason Adams, 52; Erick Anderson, 44; Billy Baker, 59; Adam Boatman, 21; Christopher Clark, 60; Mindy Clifton, 51; James Cook, 56; Reyna Gillahan, 50; LaTeisha Mays, 26; Jeremy Moore, 37; Melinda Rainey, 57; Melissa Stanford, 52; Trenton Stewart, 25; Rachel Woodall, 28; Steven Wright, 53, and Donald Yowell, 58.

Authorities said the individuals were presumed dead, and the release of their names did not mean their remains had been identified. That process is ongoing.

The plant in Bucksnort, Tennessee – roughly 56 miles (90km) south-west of Nashville – specialises in the development, manufacture, handling and storage of explosives.

The tragedy has hit hard in the close-knit town, where cell service is spotty and a gas station – adorned with a Confederate flag centrepiece – is the local watering hole.

Sheriff Davis, who has described the blast as one of the most devastating incidents of his career, said that one victim was a teacher.

Another was his neighbour’s husband, he said, and a third was one of his best friends, according to local newspaper, The Tennessean.

Resident Jerri Newcombe told the BBC that her friend of more than 20 years, Reyna Gillahan, was among the victims. The two met when her granddaughter and Gillahan’s daughter became close as little girls.

The pair “grew up together – we were in each other’s homes”, she said at a weekend vigil. “We celebrated birthdays together. It’s just surreal, because she’s gone and her babies are hurting.”

Mrs Gillahan’s daughter said on Facebook that her death is an “unimaginable loss”.

“She was a beautiful soul — loving, strong, and always thinking of others before herself,” Rosalina Gillahan wrote. In another post, she wrote simply, “We love you mama”.

Another victim, Donald Yowell, was a chemist at AES and lived in the nearby city of Waverly with his wife and son, according to WellSpring Christian Church.

They “were long-time WellSpringers before moving to Waverly a few years ago”, the church said in a Facebook post. “Please lift them up in your prayers.”

Another of those killed in the blast, Mindy Clifton worked for 20 years in corrections before moving from Florida to Tennessee to take a position at AES, according to her former colleague Matt Reinhart.

“During my 30-year career in corrections, I had the privilege of working with many outstanding individuals. One of the very best was Mindy Clifton,” Reinhart wrote on Facebook.

He asked everyone to keep her loved ones in their thoughts and prayers as “we come to terms with this heartbreaking loss”, he wrote.

Local TV news station WSMV reported LaTeisha Mays was 26 and had worked for AES for eight months before being killed in the explosion. Her family called her “the glue” that kept them together.

Her former classmate, Tyler Bailey paid tribute to her on Facebook, writing on Monday that “she was the sweetest soul in school, always smiling, laughing, trying to make others laugh, and just so caring”.

Tiffany Story told the BBC that she used to babysit one of those killed in the explosion – Rachel Woodall.

“Everybody knows everybody here,” Mrs Story said. “With everybody being so close, it’s very comforting to have family. That’s what we are – whether [by] blood, not blood, this whole community is family.”

Woodall began working as a production manager at AES about a month before the explosion. She lived in McEwen and graduated from McEwen High School in 2016.

In March, Jeremy Moore celebrated his 17-year anniversary at the company, according to an AES Facebook post.

His mother Ava Hinson called for prayer when she did not hear from her son following the explosion. On Monday, after authorities confirmed Mr Moore was among the fatalities, she posted a tribute online also confirming his death.

“Well, I heard it directly from Sheriff Davis’s mouth so I guess I have to start believing it. Jeremy Moore 10-20-87 to 10-10-25. Rest in peace my sweet baby boy,” she wrote. Moore died 10 days shy of his 38th birthday.

Trenton “Trent” Stewart lived in Waverly, where he also went to high school. He worked in production at AES, according to his Facebook account.

Mr Stewart was also a firefighter for the Waverly Department of Public Safety and served as a pastor at The Log Church.

He live-streamed his sermons on Facebook and wrote in early October that his goal as a pastor “isn’t to have the biggest crowd, or to be the most perfect person, but to show the love of Christ in whatever way possible through our church and my own personal ministry”.