NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Major communications disruptions continued to plague large areas of Tennessee on Saturday as federal investigators searched the site for clues to the blast of a recreational vehicle that shook Nashville’s sleepy downtown at Christmas.
Police emergency systems in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, as well as the Nashville COVID-19 community hotline and a handful of hospital systems, remained out of service because an AT&T headquarters was affected by the explosion. The building contained a telephone exchange with network equipment – but the company declined to say exactly how many people were affected.
Meanwhile, investigators close the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene – an area full of restaurants, restaurants and shops – while sifting through broken glass and damaged buildings to learn more about the explosion. Although the authorities are sure that this was a deliberate act, they do not publicly say who did it and why.
Mayor John Cooper imposed a curfew in the city center until Sunday by means of an executive order to limit public access to the area.
AT&T said the restoration efforts are facing several challenges, including a fire that “reignited overnight and led to the evacuation of the building”. This forced his teams to work with security and structural engineers and drill access holes in the building to reconnect power.
“Our teams continue to work non-stop in efforts to recover from the explosion in Nashville yesterday morning,” the company said in a statement on Saturday. “We have two portable cell sites operating in downtown Nashville, with several additional portable sites being deployed in the Nashville area and in the region.”
Governor Bill Lee asked the White House for federal aid on Saturday due to the “gravity and magnitude” of the explosion’s impact. At least 41 buildings have been damaged and communications systems – including home and cell phone services and 911 call centers – have failed across the state, he said. Kentucky and northern Alabama were also affected, he said.
Ray Neville, president of technology at T-Mobile, said on Twitter that service interruptions affected Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham and Atlanta. “We are working diligently with our partner in the restoration. We apologize for any inconvenience. Updates to follow, ”he said in a tweet on Friday.
The interruptions did stop flights at Nashville International Airport, but service continued normally on Saturday.
According to Metro Nashville police chief John Drake, officers responded on Friday to a report of gunshots when they found the trailer with a recorded warning that a bomb would go off in 15 minutes. The police evacuated nearby buildings and called the bomb squad. The RV exploded soon after.
Law enforcement officials said they believed the explosion was intentional but did not yet know the reason or the target.
“This morning I visited the site of the attack,” tweeted Governor Bill Lee on Saturday. “The damage is shocking and it is a miracle that no resident has died. (First Lady Maria) and I continue to pray for those who were injured in the explosion. “
Lee was quarantined because his wife contracted COVID-19. However, the Republican said he and Maria had a negative test, 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 “found tissue that we believe may be leftover, but we will examine it and let you know at that time.” No new information about the fabric was made available on Saturday.
Three people taken to hospitals in the region for treatment were in stable condition on Friday night.
The FBI took the lead in the investigation, said agency spokesman Joel Siskovic. 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 explosive violations and acts of terrorism.
In West Virginia, a hospital system said on Saturday it was experiencing network connection problems directly related to the Nashville explosion. Thomas Health of South Charleston, which operates two hospitals, said on its Facebook page that it did not have an estimated restoration time.
Likewise, the 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 prepared for situations like this and immediately moved on to paper records. There was no interruption in the delivery of patient care and no reason to be concerned about this temporary problem, ”the center said in a post on Friday.
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The Associated Press writer John Raby contributed to this report from Charleston, West Virginia.