The widespread outage continues in Tennessee after an explosion

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) – Major communications disruptions continued to ravage large areas of Tennessee on Saturday as federal investigators searched the site for clues to the explosion of a recreational vehicle that staggered sleepy downtown Nashville at Christmas.

Police emergency systems in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama, as well as Nashville’s COVID-19 hotline and a handful of hospital systems, remained out of service as an AT&T headquarters was affected by the explosion. The building contained a telephone exchange with network equipment in it – but the company has declined to say exactly how many people were affected.

Meanwhile, researchers closed the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist hub – an area filled with honky-tonks, restaurants, and shops – as they shuffled through broken glass and damaged buildings to learn about the explosion. While the authorities are sure this was an intentional act, they have always said publicly who did it and why.

Mayor John Cooper enforced a downtown curfew until Sunday through an executive order restricting public access to the area.

AT&T said restoration efforts face several challenges, including a fire that “rekindled overnight and led to the building’s evacuation.” This has forced their teams to work with safety and fabricators and drill access holes in the building to reconnect power.

“Our teams continue to work around the clock on recovery efforts from yesterday morning’s explosion in Nashville,” the company said in a Saturday statement. “We have two mobile locations in downtown Nashville and the Nashville area, and many additional mobile locations are being deployed in the region.”

Gov. Bill Lee asked the White House for federal help on Saturday because of the “severity and magnitude” of the impact of the explosion. At least 41 buildings were damaged and communication systems – including residential and cell phone services and 911 call centers – failed statewide, he said. Kentucky and Northern Alabama were also affected, he said.

Ray Neville, president of technology at T-Mobile, said on Twitter that service outages hit Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham and Atlanta. “We are working diligently with our partner on recovery. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Updates will follow, ”he said in a tweet late Friday.

The outage even briefly grounded flights at Nashville International Airport, but service continued as usual from Saturday.

According to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake, police officers responded Friday to a report of shots fired when they encountered the RV with a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomber. The camper exploded shortly afterwards.

Law enforcement officials have said they believe the explosion was intentional, but do not yet know motive or target.

“This morning I visited the site of the bombing,” tweeted Governor Bill Lee Saturday. “The damage is shocking and it is a miracle that no residents were killed. (First lady Maria) and I continue to pray for those injured in the explosion. “

Lee was in quarantine because his wife had contracted COVID-19. However, the Republican said he and Maria both tested negative, allowing the two to visit downtown Nashville. Lee said the first lady was “fully recovered”.

On Friday, Drake told reporters that investigators at the scene “have found tissue that we think may be remains, but we’ll have that examined and let you know at that point.” No new information about the tissue was released on Saturday.

Three people who were taken to regional hospitals for treatment were in stable condition on Friday evening.

The FBI has been at the forefront of the investigation, spokesman Joel Siskovic said. Federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also involved in the investigation. The FBI is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for investigating federal crimes, such as explosives violations and terrorist attacks.

In West Virginia, a hospital system said Saturday it was experiencing network connectivity issues directly related to the Nashville explosion. Thomas Health, based in South Charleston, which operates two hospitals, said on its Facebook page that it had no estimated recovery time.

Likewise, Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, Tennessee said on its Facebook page that it was operating without access to some of its systems, including medical records.

“We are preparing for situations like this and have immediately switched to paper files. There has been no disruption to the delivery of patient care, and there is no cause for concern about this temporary problem, ”the center said in a post Friday.

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Associated Press writer John Raby contributed to this report from Charleston, West Virginia.

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