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, Newcombe told the BBC at the vigil. We celebrated birthdays together. It's just surreal, because she's gone and her babies are hurting. Local police have not publicly identified any of the unaccounted-for victims, who authorities presume have all been killed. Her friend was full of life, Ms Newcombe said. Bucksnort is a close-knit town where the cell service is spotty and a gas station - adorned with a Confederate flag center-piece - is the local watering hole, residents say. This tragedy has hit the area hard as the community mourns family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. The town had been holding out hope for good news after the explosion on Friday morning shook homes across the area, clouded the skies with smoke, and drew a surge of hundreds of state and national first responders to an otherwise sleepy community tucked behind forests along a busy motorway. But after nearly two days with no sign of survivors and the explosion site still considered dangerous for first responders, even the previously optimistic Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said the time had come to switch to a recovery - rather than rescue - strategy. At some point in time, we have got to rip off the Band-Aid, Davis, who has held back tears at news conferences, said. We are dealing with remains. The volatile nature of the explosive materials has also hampered the emergency response, officials said, as controlled detonations to render the site safe are also expected in the coming days. The Accurate Energetic Systems company employed about 80 workers and is one of the only private, well-paying jobs around in these counties.