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CNN Live At Daybreak
Number of People Dead Following Subway Fire in South Korea
Aired February 18, 2003 - 05:06 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: Well, as we told you earlier, there are a number of people dead following a big subway fire in Taegu, South Korea. That's about 200 miles southeast of Seoul.
Our Rebecca MacKinnon joins us live from Seoul with more on this apparent arson attack -- tell us what happened, Rebecca.
REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it is truly a gruesome scene. The police are suspecting a 46-year-old man who, according to eyewitness accounts, took a milk carton full of some kind of flammable material onto the subway and set it on fire. Apparently some of the bystanders had tried to stop him, but to no avail.
This man is still alive. He's currently in the hospital with serious burns. The police have him tied down and in their custody as they, as this man is receiving treatment. He is believed to also have a history of mental problems.
Now, the death toll is expected to continue to rise in this subway fire. Currently, officially confirmed dead are 47 confirmed dead, 133 injured and 59 missing. However, that total is expected to rise very sharply as rescue workers continue to bring bodies out of the burned subway cars.
Twelve subway cars there reporting eyewitness accounts of at least 100 bodies, they believe, still trapped inside -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rebecca, just to make things clear, this is an underground subway in South Korea. Was the fire contained to just one car and then the doors wouldn't open and people couldn't get out?
MACKINNON: Yes, that's right. It was, somehow the fire spread that quickly that that many people were trapped inside and apparently one of the reasons why it's so difficult to come up with a total death toll and why it's been difficult bringing out dead and injured has been that the smoke have flames have been very hot. It's very difficult conditions for rescue workers to work in. And a lot of the people were all jammed up, trying to escape. And all, apparently, large masses of people perished together, which is making it very difficult to bring out their remains -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And you said earlier in a report that people knew that they were going to be trapped so they were on their cell phones calling home.
MACKINNON: That is correct. We are hearing chilling accounts that are reminiscent of what happened with the World Trade Center attack with people calling their loved ones on their cell phones, saying I'm trapped in this fire, I don't know what happened and I don't know if I can get out. And then the family members not hearing from those people again.
So, a truly chilling, frightening situation down here in South Korea today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Rebecca MacKinnon reporting live for us this morning.
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Korea>
Aired February 18, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we told you earlier, there are a number of people dead following a big subway fire in Taegu, South Korea. That's about 200 miles southeast of Seoul.
Our Rebecca MacKinnon joins us live from Seoul with more on this apparent arson attack -- tell us what happened, Rebecca.
REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it is truly a gruesome scene. The police are suspecting a 46-year-old man who, according to eyewitness accounts, took a milk carton full of some kind of flammable material onto the subway and set it on fire. Apparently some of the bystanders had tried to stop him, but to no avail.
This man is still alive. He's currently in the hospital with serious burns. The police have him tied down and in their custody as they, as this man is receiving treatment. He is believed to also have a history of mental problems.
Now, the death toll is expected to continue to rise in this subway fire. Currently, officially confirmed dead are 47 confirmed dead, 133 injured and 59 missing. However, that total is expected to rise very sharply as rescue workers continue to bring bodies out of the burned subway cars.
Twelve subway cars there reporting eyewitness accounts of at least 100 bodies, they believe, still trapped inside -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rebecca, just to make things clear, this is an underground subway in South Korea. Was the fire contained to just one car and then the doors wouldn't open and people couldn't get out?
MACKINNON: Yes, that's right. It was, somehow the fire spread that quickly that that many people were trapped inside and apparently one of the reasons why it's so difficult to come up with a total death toll and why it's been difficult bringing out dead and injured has been that the smoke have flames have been very hot. It's very difficult conditions for rescue workers to work in. And a lot of the people were all jammed up, trying to escape. And all, apparently, large masses of people perished together, which is making it very difficult to bring out their remains -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And you said earlier in a report that people knew that they were going to be trapped so they were on their cell phones calling home.
MACKINNON: That is correct. We are hearing chilling accounts that are reminiscent of what happened with the World Trade Center attack with people calling their loved ones on their cell phones, saying I'm trapped in this fire, I don't know what happened and I don't know if I can get out. And then the family members not hearing from those people again.
So, a truly chilling, frightening situation down here in South Korea today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Rebecca MacKinnon reporting live for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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