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American Morning
America's New War: Talk with Ironworker Going Through Rubble of World Trade Center
Aired September 18, 2001 - 11:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's quickly check with Michael Okwu, who joins us from as close to ground zero as you can get.
Michael, describe to us some of what you've seen this morning.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, it -- this place is full of emergency medical vehicles, state officials, local officials, police department officials. It is literally teeming with hundreds of people who are making their way down into the site. There's a fence that's been erected here. We understand that FBI agents were here earlier this morning, and, obviously, they are concerned about security issues. This is not just a crash site, a disaster site. It is also the site of a crime scene.
I'm joined now by Anthony E'sola, who has been working here since Thursday of last week. He's an ironworker, and he's one of hundreds, literally hundreds of rescue workers, and this still in fact a rescue mission, who have been digging underneath the ash and rubble of what was once the World Trade Center.
Anthony, could you tell me what it is like in there? It is everything you imagined it would be, or is it much worse than that?
ANTHONY E'SOLA, IRON WORKER: Nothing like I imagined from what you can see on TV doesn't compare to what it's like. The best way to describe it is hell. I mean, you walk in, you start climbing the pile, the heat, there's smoke, and the smell of death. There's not much more to say about that. It's not pleasant at all.
OKWU: I understand that a lot of rescue workers, some of your compatriots down there have been wiping Vicks Vapor Rub.
E'SOLA: Vicks Vapor Rub, yes. It's starting to get to the point, where today was the first day I had to actually use that under my nose, use my respirator. And it's on my clothes. You can smell on the clothes. I mean, it's nothing what I imagined at all.
OKWU: Our viewers don't have a sense of this. They can see that you're tired and that you're sweating, and obviously, the conditions are quite hot in there. But literally, if you were to stand next to him, he is emanating this smell of -- almost as if lying on embers, if you were in the middle of a bonfire. E'SOLA: Actually, I kind of am on embers. When you climb the pile, the steal is still hot. If you stay in one place too long, your boots start to melt. And you know, you have to constantly keep moving, and it's smoke -- smoke comes up, you can't see five feet in front of you. And the crane booming in and booming stuff out. And you can't see, and it's really, really dangerous.
OKWU: You worked overnight last night.
E'SOLA: Yes.
OKWU: You're off shift now. You're going home.
E'SOLA: Yes.
OKWU: Where were you last night? What were you working on? And what did you see?
E'SOLA: I -- my gang is assigned to tower one. And right now, tower one -- we pulled the out a piece of steal in tower that said the 96th floor, and we've been at this for four or five days now. It doesn't look like we've moved anything out yet, but yet truckloads of truckloads of steel have been trucked out of here constantly.
OKWU: So how does this work? Your working with a team of four or five other workers.
E'SOLA: Four or five ironworkers on top of pile.
OKWU: You're working on a pile and you're literally cutting through the steel.
E'SOLA: Yes. On top of the pile, on top of that right back there, and we have torches, cutting with torches, and sometimes you can smell like human hair as you use the torches.
OKWU: Is there still hope? Obviously you said you just got in the front door. That's where you are right now. You could see big sign that indicated that was something from the 96th floor. Is there hope among the rest of the workers there? There's still fires underneath the rubble?
E'SOLA: I think hope is slowly dwindling. Today, there really wasn't too much going on as far as search going on. It was mostly us removing steel, and really wasn't too many rescuers in on the pile today.
OKWU: Anthony E'Sola, thanks of joining us. Again, Anthony E'sola, an ironworker who's been working overnight. He's going to be coming back here tonight to try to continue in their desperate search to find some life.
Back to you, Paula.
ZAHN: What a show of strength. Michael Okwu, thanks so much.
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