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CNN Live Sunday
Gangway Collapses, 15 Dead at Shipyard
Aired November 16, 2003 - 10:32 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.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, ANCHOR: Now to France where investigators are trying to determine what caused a gangway to collapse killing 15 people at the Queen Mary 2 construction site.
CNN's Monita Rajpal has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were there to be among the first to tour the ship before its maiden voyage, but what started out as excitement turned to tragedy when the Queen Mary 2's temporary gangway, built only the night before, collapsed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was going to work and suddenly the gangway collapsed and fell down. I probably fell about 20, 25, maybe 15 meters. I'm not sure. I fell with at least 30 other people.
There were many dead and many injured, but as soon as I saw that I could walk, I went to rescue my mother right away. There also were other people who were saved by rescuers.
RAJPAL: Company officials say up to 50 people were walking on the gangway when it collapsed, plunging some 15 meters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): it's really a tragedy. No one expected such a thing to happen. So we're very shaken today to see workers and visitors who came to the shipyards to see such a beautiful ship and died.
RAJPAL: In a statement the Queen Mary 2's president and chief operating officer said, "On behalf of all of us at Cunard, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who are killed or injured in this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their friends and relatives at this time of sorrow."
"Le plan rouge" or "the red plan" was immediately enacted and dozens of firefighters and rescue workers in the town of Faneusel (ph) in western France rushed to the scene early Saturday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): An emergency plan was immediately put into place to gather as many vehicles as possible from the French emergency service at the scene. The fire brigade, doctors and nurses in order to treat the victims.
The victims were evacuated and taken to various hospitals in the area, and investigators from the general prosecutor's office are already on the scene.
RAJPAL: The QM2, weighing 150,000 tons, can carry close to 4,000 people on board. It's more than 30 meters longer than the original Queen Mary, making it the world's largest passenger liner.
Owned and operated by the Cunard Line, it was undergoing construction in preparation for its maiden voyage in January when the stairway collapsed at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard.
The cruise liner had already completed a series of sea trials off France's Brittany coast.
Company officials say the $800 million vessel's maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, will go on as scheduled.
Monita Rajpal, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 16, 2003 - 10:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, ANCHOR: Now to France where investigators are trying to determine what caused a gangway to collapse killing 15 people at the Queen Mary 2 construction site.
CNN's Monita Rajpal has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were there to be among the first to tour the ship before its maiden voyage, but what started out as excitement turned to tragedy when the Queen Mary 2's temporary gangway, built only the night before, collapsed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was going to work and suddenly the gangway collapsed and fell down. I probably fell about 20, 25, maybe 15 meters. I'm not sure. I fell with at least 30 other people.
There were many dead and many injured, but as soon as I saw that I could walk, I went to rescue my mother right away. There also were other people who were saved by rescuers.
RAJPAL: Company officials say up to 50 people were walking on the gangway when it collapsed, plunging some 15 meters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): it's really a tragedy. No one expected such a thing to happen. So we're very shaken today to see workers and visitors who came to the shipyards to see such a beautiful ship and died.
RAJPAL: In a statement the Queen Mary 2's president and chief operating officer said, "On behalf of all of us at Cunard, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who are killed or injured in this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with their friends and relatives at this time of sorrow."
"Le plan rouge" or "the red plan" was immediately enacted and dozens of firefighters and rescue workers in the town of Faneusel (ph) in western France rushed to the scene early Saturday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): An emergency plan was immediately put into place to gather as many vehicles as possible from the French emergency service at the scene. The fire brigade, doctors and nurses in order to treat the victims.
The victims were evacuated and taken to various hospitals in the area, and investigators from the general prosecutor's office are already on the scene.
RAJPAL: The QM2, weighing 150,000 tons, can carry close to 4,000 people on board. It's more than 30 meters longer than the original Queen Mary, making it the world's largest passenger liner.
Owned and operated by the Cunard Line, it was undergoing construction in preparation for its maiden voyage in January when the stairway collapsed at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard.
The cruise liner had already completed a series of sea trials off France's Brittany coast.
Company officials say the $800 million vessel's maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, will go on as scheduled.
Monita Rajpal, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
