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American Morning

Iran Earthquake, Relief, Recovery

Aired December 29, 2003 - 06:01   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: Hope is fading in Iran. The country's supreme leader is now touring Bam and vowing to rebuild. But with 25,000 dead, it's hard to envision that now.
Live to Iran and Kasra Naji.

Are Americans still there helping -- Kasra?

KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They haven't arrived here yet, but they have arrived in the town of Kerman, which is about 200 kilometers south of here. And they are on their way here.

We hear that it's a group of 80 of them, and they are specialists in assessment and search and rescue. And from what we understand, they have been warmly received here by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and they have been given a warm welcome. And they're going to be working alongside Revolutionary Guard to help people here in this major disaster here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Twenty-five thousand dead. It's just unimaginable to most of us. The supreme leader of Iran says they will rebuild the city. Is that possible?

NAJI: Well, yes, that 25,000 figure comes from a local official here today who said that the figure is 25,000. They have found 25,000 bodies, and they have buried many of them. And he says that they are under pressure to bury most of all of them, in fact, by the end of today, because he says there is a high risk of spread of disease.

So, that is the pressure they are under. And you can see that at the cemetery here, which I visited a short time ago, and it's a very grim sight. They are burying people in mass graves, using bulldozers to cover them. Their bodies are covered in white shrouds, according to Islamic rules. And they've -- summarily, they've been put in the graves after very summary Islamic rites by Iran's Shiite clergymen, who are here in big numbers to do just that job -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kasra Naji reporting live from Bam, Iran, 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.






Aired December 29, 2003 - 06:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hope is fading in Iran. The country's supreme leader is now touring Bam and vowing to rebuild. But with 25,000 dead, it's hard to envision that now.
Live to Iran and Kasra Naji.

Are Americans still there helping -- Kasra?

KASRA NAJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They haven't arrived here yet, but they have arrived in the town of Kerman, which is about 200 kilometers south of here. And they are on their way here.

We hear that it's a group of 80 of them, and they are specialists in assessment and search and rescue. And from what we understand, they have been warmly received here by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and they have been given a warm welcome. And they're going to be working alongside Revolutionary Guard to help people here in this major disaster here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Twenty-five thousand dead. It's just unimaginable to most of us. The supreme leader of Iran says they will rebuild the city. Is that possible?

NAJI: Well, yes, that 25,000 figure comes from a local official here today who said that the figure is 25,000. They have found 25,000 bodies, and they have buried many of them. And he says that they are under pressure to bury most of all of them, in fact, by the end of today, because he says there is a high risk of spread of disease.

So, that is the pressure they are under. And you can see that at the cemetery here, which I visited a short time ago, and it's a very grim sight. They are burying people in mass graves, using bulldozers to cover them. Their bodies are covered in white shrouds, according to Islamic rules. And they've -- summarily, they've been put in the graves after very summary Islamic rites by Iran's Shiite clergymen, who are here in big numbers to do just that job -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Kasra Naji reporting live from Bam, Iran, 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.