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CNN Live At Daybreak

Three Dead After Maryland Tornado

Aired April 29, 2002 - 06:56   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Nancy Weiner of CNN affiliate WJLA is in La Plata, Maryland.

Three people died there, Nancy? What's the extent of the damage.

NANCY WEINER, WJLA CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, if you take a drive through downtown La Plata, which is a small residential community in southern Maryland, you just block after block of devastation, homes and businesses completely flattened, and, right now, the tally that we have from police is that 70 people were injured, and, as you said, three people were killed by this very fast- moving tornado.

COSTELLO: Nancy, do we know where those three people were when they died?

WEINER: We're getting a few details about what happened to them.

One was a 51-year-old man who was in his home. The home collapsed, and he was pinned in the debris. His body was found a few hours later.

Another person -- we don't know if this was a man or a woman -- was actually in their car right at the intersection of Route 301 and Route 6 in downtown La Plata. That is the epicenter of where the tornado touched down. That person had a stroke when the tornado touched down.

Another person was killed, but we don't have any details about what happened to them just yet.

COSTELLO: So has the cleanup begun already?

WEINER: Yes, it has, and, in fact, a very impressive crew of firefighters and police officers have gathered here in La Plata from seven different counties. They're all working together to participate in the cleanup, which is going to take quite some time.

But they're working first at getting roads reopened, getting power lines back up, and getting tree branches out of the most hard -- out of the hardest-hit areas. In fact, one of the biggest problems was that the hospital where most of the people were taken was blocked by fallen debris in the roadway. So that made it a really tricky rescue operation yesterday evening when the tornado hit. COSTELLO: A terrible situation in La Plata, Maryland.

Thank you, Nancy Weiner, from our affiliate WJLA, reporting live for us this morning.

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