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Nigerian Church Collapse; Dozens Killed in Istanbul Bombings; ExxonMobil CEO Could Be Tapped for U.S. Secretary of State. Aired 2- 2:30a ET
Aired December 11, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Southern Nigeria is in mourning after dozens of people are feared killed in the collapse of a church during a bishop's ordination. We'll have the latest on the developing tragedy in just a moment.
In Kenya, a fuel tanker spins out of control and sets fire to everything in its deadly path.
Plus, in Istanbul, 29 people are dead and nearly 200 wounded after two blasts near a football stadium. Frightening video shows what it was like.
Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier, live from Atlanta, and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
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VANIER: Nigerian government officials will look into what caused a church to collapse on worshippers this weekend. There's no official death toll yet but it is feared that dozens of people may have been killed when the roof of the Reigners Bible Church caved in in the southern town of Uyo.
The state's governor had gathered with a crowd inside the church for a consecration ceremony when the tragedy happened.
All right. Let's get the latest now from CNN's David McKenzie. He joins us and he is following developments from Johannesburg, South Africa.
David, what's the latest at this stage?
What do we know at this stage?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cyril, what we know is that they're still trying to get a gauge of just how serious this incident was in Southern Nigeria. This church collapsing, it seems, rapidly, parts of the roof caving in and those very heavy steel structures that were supporting the church, which was kind of between a building and a stadium in its construction, collapsing on these hundreds, perhaps even thousands of worshippers, who were there to celebrate the consecration of their pastor to become the bishop.
The governor was there, as you say. He survived the incident and said it was horrific. And certainly it appears that many people were killed, couldn't be pulled out of the wreckage because of those heavy steel structures collapsing around them.
Tragic images being circulated of bodies being placed in the local teaching hospital. Nothing could be done from there for them but certainly paramedics and others rushing to the scene to try to save those who could be saved.
And many questions being asked, including by the governor himself, of why this could have happened in a country with a history of these kinds of disasters -- Cyril.
VANIER: There's been a little bit of finger pointing that has begun already and it seems that perhaps some of the building standards are in question.
MCKENZIE: Well, there's been a perennial issue with building standards in Nigeria. Of course, in 2014, there was a very tragic incident of a church collapsing in Lagos that led to a number of inquiries, promises and, really, the government saying that they would not allow these kinds of building standards to be ignored.
Too early to say, of course, who is to blame for this incident. There's been many local reports that say the building was still under construction or being refurbished prior to this meeting with all these hundreds of people.
There are many of these massive churches in Nigeria and elsewhere across the continent that I have been to as well, that often these churches expand very rapidly and try to kind of place some kind of shelter or buildings for their parishioners.
In this case, it seems, questions are being asked already. The governor's office saying they will put in an inquiry, saying they will cover all the medical costs. The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, weighing in late last night. They said he spoke to the governor.
He said that a tragedy anywhere in Nigeria is a tragedy for all of Nigeria and certainly more details will be coming out in the coming hours -- Cyril.
VANIER: All right. David McKenzie, our regional correspondent, he is reporting live from South Africa, right now in Johannesburg. Thank you very much. We appreciate you giving us those details.
And, of course, we'll continue crossing back to you to find out a little bit more about hopefully what happened and the circumstances of that accident. Thank you very much.
Now at least 33 people are dead after a fuel tanker crash in Kenya. It happened on Saturday near the town of Naivasha, north of Nairobi. Authorities say the tanker carrying highly flammable gas lost control and started rolling downhill, slamming into several vehicles and bursting into flame.
At least 11 vehicles were burned and many people are reported injured.
Turkish officials say 29 people are dead and 166 more are wounded after twin bombings near a football stadium in Istanbul. Almost all those killed were police officers. Now this is video of reporters, who were inside this stadium at the time of the blast.
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VANIER: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the attack, quote, "the ugliest face of terror." Our Mohammed Lila has the details.
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MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The explosions were so powerful that we could feel the ground shaking beneath our feet. The first explosion very loud and very powerful, followed by a second, slightly smaller explosion.
Turkish officials say that the explosions were a car bomb and a suicide bomb. The car bomb was placed outside the Besiktas Vodafone stadium just as a football match had finished. There were lots of crowds in the area, many, many civilians along with a large presence of riot police.
Now it's not unusual for riot police to be out following a football match. Turkish officials say that the target was the riot police themselves. And the casualty count, we expect, will continue to grow in the immediate aftermath of the bombing.
There was a torrent and a wave of sirens and emergency responders and ambulance and police that were shuttling some of the victims who were in critical condition to nearby hospitals.
Turkey's President Erdogan put out a statement, stopping short of blaming any specific group but referring to this as an ongoing campaign of terror, of blood, chaos and savagery.
Now no group has come forward yet with an official claim of responsibility for the attack but we do know that Turkey is fighting battles on several fronts. There's a low-level insurgency being waged by Kurdish militants inside Turkey.
Of course, there's ISIS that has attack locations within Turkey as well and there's also the Gulenist movement, which Turkey blames for being behind the failed coup in July.
All of those groups could have reason to attack locations inside Turkey. But again, without any claim of responsibility, we just don't know for sure who is behind these attacks. All we know is that these attacks were a large scale and they targeted an area that was very busy on a weekend evening -- Muhammad Lila, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VANIER: After losing it to the Syrian government last March, ISIS may
be back on the attack in the ancient of Palmyra. There are reports that hundreds of Syrian troops withdrew on Saturday after intense fighting in the city's outskirts. CNN has not been able to confirm the developments but activists say that ISIS has once again seized neighborhoods in Palmyra's north.
Fighting is also reportedly taking place at the Palmyra Citadel and in its surrounding areas.
Donald Trump and the U.S. intelligence community are off to a rocky start. The president-elect's team has mocked a CIA report that Russia tried to steer the election toward Trump. They compared it to the agency's misjudgments over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq years ago.
A former CIA operative, Robert Baer, says if the agency can prove that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, then the U.S. should vote again. Russia has demanded, for its part, evidence it of its involvement.
And Donald Trump may be closing in on his choice for America's top diplomat. Sources tell CNN that ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is the president-elect's top choice right now for secretary of state.
But as CNN's Ryan Nobles reports, Tillerson ties to Russia are sparking some concern.
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RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of those key characteristics about Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson that Donald Trump views as positives are things that have leading Republican John McCain concerned.
I caught up with McCain as he was heading into today's Army-Navy game. And he said that he wants answers about Tillerson's connection to the Russian government.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I have obviously concerns of reports of his relationship with Vladimir Putin, who is a thug and a murderer. But that's the -- we will have hearings on that issue and other issues concerning him will be examined. And then it's the time to make up your mind as to whether to vote yes or no.
NOBLES: So what kind of questions would you ask Rex Tillerson that would make you feel comfortable about him in a role like that?
MCCAIN: His view of Vladimir Putin and his role in the world. And, for example, the fact that Boris Nemtsov, who was the leader of the opposition, was murdered on the orders, I believe, of Vladimir Putin, in the shadow of the Kremlin.
NOBLES: And Tillerson's ties to the Russian government are well known. He is close friends with Russian president Vladimir Putin. And he helped to negotiate a deal with ExxonMobil and the largest company in Russia, a company in which the Russian government is its largest investor.
And while Republicans do control the United States Senate, their margin is only four votes. And if there are other moderate Republicans like John McCain, who have concerned about Tillerson's appointment, it could make for a rocky confirmation.
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VANIER: Ryan Nobles in Baltimore there.
All right, our meteorologist from the CNN International Weather Center has joined us now, Derek Van Dam.
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VANIER: Thank you for watching us. I'm Cyril Vanier. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is next. Stay with CNN.
