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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview with Andrew Finkel
Aired November 15, 2003 - 08:02 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to Turkey this morning, where the wreckage is being cleared and the victims of a double car bomb attack in Istanbul are still being counted and treated. Officials say it was a coordinated strike at two synagogues in separate parts of the city and it came during morning prayers.
And joining us live now with the very latest is journalist Andrew Finkel -- Andrew, good morning to you once again.
ANDREW FINKEL: Good morning.
Yes, I'm standing here on the street in front of Neve Shalom Synagogue. Now, several hours ago there was a lethal blast in front of this synagogue. We believe that a car, a van was driving down the street and exploded en route.
Now, there's intense security in front of this synagogue. People aren't allowed to park there. It's difficult to get in. It was clearly some desperate act, probably a suicide bomber. We haven't yet confirmed that. And as a result of this blast and a blast elsewhere in the city, in front of a synagogue elsewhere in the city, 15 people at least have lost their lives and certainly over 100 people are injured.
Now, most of those who lost their lives, most of the injured are not people inside the synagogue, but passersby. This is a fairly crowded area of the city, a place where there's a lot of shops, lamp shops, a huge amount of broken glass, a huge amount of destruction in the streets.
All of the dead and the injured now appear to have been evacuated, taken away. It's really the turn of the forensic scientists to see really what was behind this, but and I think of the politicians, the Turkish politicians, to see exactly really what was going on here today, what this means and how they can clear up this particular mess -- Heidi.
COLLINS: I'm wondering if you could tell us just a little bit more, Andrew, about the hospitals and how well they are holding up. With this many people injured, how do they fare?
FINKEL: Well, this is a tragedy, the dimensions of which I think the Turkish health system and medical system is prepared to cope with. You may remember there was a terrible earthquake in this -- not in Istanbul, but near Istanbul several years ago. There, there were tens of thousands of people who were hurt and injured and many deaths. So they're basically used to this -- not this particular sort of incident, but used to coping with incidents and the first aid system can probably cope with this -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Andrew Finkel, we appreciate your time this morning, coming to us live out of Istanbul.
Thanks so much.
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 November 15, 2003 - 08:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to Turkey this morning, where the wreckage is being cleared and the victims of a double car bomb attack in Istanbul are still being counted and treated. Officials say it was a coordinated strike at two synagogues in separate parts of the city and it came during morning prayers.
And joining us live now with the very latest is journalist Andrew Finkel -- Andrew, good morning to you once again.
ANDREW FINKEL: Good morning.
Yes, I'm standing here on the street in front of Neve Shalom Synagogue. Now, several hours ago there was a lethal blast in front of this synagogue. We believe that a car, a van was driving down the street and exploded en route.
Now, there's intense security in front of this synagogue. People aren't allowed to park there. It's difficult to get in. It was clearly some desperate act, probably a suicide bomber. We haven't yet confirmed that. And as a result of this blast and a blast elsewhere in the city, in front of a synagogue elsewhere in the city, 15 people at least have lost their lives and certainly over 100 people are injured.
Now, most of those who lost their lives, most of the injured are not people inside the synagogue, but passersby. This is a fairly crowded area of the city, a place where there's a lot of shops, lamp shops, a huge amount of broken glass, a huge amount of destruction in the streets.
All of the dead and the injured now appear to have been evacuated, taken away. It's really the turn of the forensic scientists to see really what was behind this, but and I think of the politicians, the Turkish politicians, to see exactly really what was going on here today, what this means and how they can clear up this particular mess -- Heidi.
COLLINS: I'm wondering if you could tell us just a little bit more, Andrew, about the hospitals and how well they are holding up. With this many people injured, how do they fare?
FINKEL: Well, this is a tragedy, the dimensions of which I think the Turkish health system and medical system is prepared to cope with. You may remember there was a terrible earthquake in this -- not in Istanbul, but near Istanbul several years ago. There, there were tens of thousands of people who were hurt and injured and many deaths. So they're basically used to this -- not this particular sort of incident, but used to coping with incidents and the first aid system can probably cope with this -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Andrew Finkel, we appreciate your time this morning, coming to us live out of Istanbul.
Thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
