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CNN Live At Daybreak

In Moscow, Rescue Teams Fear Death Toll Could Rise

Aired February 16, 2004 - 05:34   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: All right, to Russia now. In Moscow today, rescue teams fear the death toll could rise in a deadly weekend roof collapse. It happened at a water park above an indoor children's swimming pool.
Live to Moscow now and CNN's Ryan Chilcote -- what happened, Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the rescue effort is under way right now and hope has almost completely faded in rescuing anyone from the rubble from that roof collapse. Basically, on Saturday night, a gigantic -- the size of a football field, actually -- glass roof that was covering this water park collapsed. And it created complete chaos when it did.

It collapsed right above, believe it or not, the kids' pool. In the aftermath, people were literally running out into the Russian winter night in their swimsuits, a lot of people being carried out. And really right now the scene looks more like an earthquake zone than it does some kind of construction accident.

The death toll right now stands at 25. A hundred and ten people were injured in this accident. About half of those people, a bit more than half, remain in the hospital, some of them in very critical condition, and a good third of them children.

Right now, Moscow officials, in particular the prosecutor's office, talking to the architects who designed this glass roof and talking to the construction company who built it. They want to know exactly what materials were used in the construction of this roof and how it was designed to begin with. They say it could have been snow that was accumulating on the roof, although, of course, that explanation doesn't satisfy everyone, because one would think when you put a glass roof on a building in Moscow that one would take into account the accumulation of snow on it.

Right now, prosecutors questioning both the architects and the builders and we'll just have to see what happens. So far they have temporarily suspended the license of both the architects and the construction company involved with this.

But the Moscow mayor came out a short while ago and told reporters that they are still looking for between nine and 13 people. That is the number of people that they believe are still under the rubble, although he said he did not believe that any of those people are still alive. That number, nine to 13, they're not exactly sure how many people are under there, but they think nine to 13 based on the number of coats that they found, unclaimed coats in the locker room, the cars still parked in the parking lot and the phone calls that they've been getting from loved ones that say they've been missing their loved ones on since Saturday night -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Ryan Chilcote live from Moscow 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 February 16, 2004 - 05:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, to Russia now. In Moscow today, rescue teams fear the death toll could rise in a deadly weekend roof collapse. It happened at a water park above an indoor children's swimming pool.
Live to Moscow now and CNN's Ryan Chilcote -- what happened, Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the rescue effort is under way right now and hope has almost completely faded in rescuing anyone from the rubble from that roof collapse. Basically, on Saturday night, a gigantic -- the size of a football field, actually -- glass roof that was covering this water park collapsed. And it created complete chaos when it did.

It collapsed right above, believe it or not, the kids' pool. In the aftermath, people were literally running out into the Russian winter night in their swimsuits, a lot of people being carried out. And really right now the scene looks more like an earthquake zone than it does some kind of construction accident.

The death toll right now stands at 25. A hundred and ten people were injured in this accident. About half of those people, a bit more than half, remain in the hospital, some of them in very critical condition, and a good third of them children.

Right now, Moscow officials, in particular the prosecutor's office, talking to the architects who designed this glass roof and talking to the construction company who built it. They want to know exactly what materials were used in the construction of this roof and how it was designed to begin with. They say it could have been snow that was accumulating on the roof, although, of course, that explanation doesn't satisfy everyone, because one would think when you put a glass roof on a building in Moscow that one would take into account the accumulation of snow on it.

Right now, prosecutors questioning both the architects and the builders and we'll just have to see what happens. So far they have temporarily suspended the license of both the architects and the construction company involved with this.

But the Moscow mayor came out a short while ago and told reporters that they are still looking for between nine and 13 people. That is the number of people that they believe are still under the rubble, although he said he did not believe that any of those people are still alive. That number, nine to 13, they're not exactly sure how many people are under there, but they think nine to 13 based on the number of coats that they found, unclaimed coats in the locker room, the cars still parked in the parking lot and the phone calls that they've been getting from loved ones that say they've been missing their loved ones on since Saturday night -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Ryan Chilcote live from Moscow 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