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CNN Live Sunday

Officials Investigating Deadly Chicago Porch Collapse

Aired June 29, 2003 - 17:59   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of unanswered questions in Chicago today after a third story porch collapsed, killing a dozen people. Most of the victims were on porches on the lower levels, crushed by the weight of debris and the piles of human bodies.
CNN's Jeff Flock reports emergency officials say too many people were crammed in too small a space.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The stretchers just kept coming. A back porch party on a beautiful summer night in Chicago collapsing into tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't like a delay or anything, it just went straight down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was too -- you know, too many people on the deck, I think, personally. I mean, it was crowded up there.

FLOCK: The daylight pictures illuminate what happened. Three decks of an apartment building back porch pancake on each other, under the weight of the partiers.

Freelance photographer Ken Hersheler got to scene just after the rescuers.

KEN HERSHELER, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER: The fire department did with what they could with triage. There actually were some people trapped under the debris and they had to pull up the debris to get at those people.

FLOCK: Neighbors who saw what happened tried to help. That's Rick Frommeyer in the striped shirt who brought towels and ice from the corner bar.

RICK FROMMEYER, AIDED VICTIMS: There was a lot of bodies, you know, just lying around in the grass, a lot of neck injuries, a lot of blood everywhere.

FLOCK: Most of the dead on the lower decks, crushed, rescue workers setting their bodies aside to triage those still breathing, survivors frantically trying to locate their friend on their cell phones.

This woman fell from the top deck and says there was no warning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all. It just collapsed. It was just, like, completely gave out from other us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many people were on the deck?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like a lot to me. I mean, the decks -- both decks were completely packed that it was difficult to walk through. I guess that probably wasn't the best idea.

FLOCK: But was there more? A structural flaw in the design or construction of the porches that caused or contributed to the collapse?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're still looking into all the facts and as soon as we have them, we'll get back to you.

FLOCK: By day's end, what was left of the back porches was torn completely down. City officials removed it, saying what was left wasn't structurally sound.

The question is: were the porches structurally sound to begin with?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLOCK: As perhaps you can see behind me, the tear down of what was left is now complete. They will soon haul all of that away. And then, of course, the questions continue -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Jeff, I was wondering, do we know who owned that building and where that person is right now?

FLOCK: Indeed we do. City officials -- the building commissioner says they have found the owner. He is now in Canada, but expected to return to the U.S. We still don't know, though, was there was a building permit for that porch and we don't know who built it.

So still, a lot of unanswered questions.

SAVIDGE: You're right there. Jeff Flock reporting to us live from Chicago, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 29, 2003 - 17:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of unanswered questions in Chicago today after a third story porch collapsed, killing a dozen people. Most of the victims were on porches on the lower levels, crushed by the weight of debris and the piles of human bodies.
CNN's Jeff Flock reports emergency officials say too many people were crammed in too small a space.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The stretchers just kept coming. A back porch party on a beautiful summer night in Chicago collapsing into tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't like a delay or anything, it just went straight down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was too -- you know, too many people on the deck, I think, personally. I mean, it was crowded up there.

FLOCK: The daylight pictures illuminate what happened. Three decks of an apartment building back porch pancake on each other, under the weight of the partiers.

Freelance photographer Ken Hersheler got to scene just after the rescuers.

KEN HERSHELER, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER: The fire department did with what they could with triage. There actually were some people trapped under the debris and they had to pull up the debris to get at those people.

FLOCK: Neighbors who saw what happened tried to help. That's Rick Frommeyer in the striped shirt who brought towels and ice from the corner bar.

RICK FROMMEYER, AIDED VICTIMS: There was a lot of bodies, you know, just lying around in the grass, a lot of neck injuries, a lot of blood everywhere.

FLOCK: Most of the dead on the lower decks, crushed, rescue workers setting their bodies aside to triage those still breathing, survivors frantically trying to locate their friend on their cell phones.

This woman fell from the top deck and says there was no warning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all. It just collapsed. It was just, like, completely gave out from other us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many people were on the deck?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like a lot to me. I mean, the decks -- both decks were completely packed that it was difficult to walk through. I guess that probably wasn't the best idea.

FLOCK: But was there more? A structural flaw in the design or construction of the porches that caused or contributed to the collapse?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're still looking into all the facts and as soon as we have them, we'll get back to you.

FLOCK: By day's end, what was left of the back porches was torn completely down. City officials removed it, saying what was left wasn't structurally sound.

The question is: were the porches structurally sound to begin with?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLOCK: As perhaps you can see behind me, the tear down of what was left is now complete. They will soon haul all of that away. And then, of course, the questions continue -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Jeff, I was wondering, do we know who owned that building and where that person is right now?

FLOCK: Indeed we do. City officials -- the building commissioner says they have found the owner. He is now in Canada, but expected to return to the U.S. We still don't know, though, was there was a building permit for that porch and we don't know who built it.

So still, a lot of unanswered questions.

SAVIDGE: You're right there. Jeff Flock reporting to us live from Chicago, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com