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America Under Attack: Terrorists Crash Hijacked Airliners Into World Trade Center, Pentagon

Aired September 11, 2001 - 15:41   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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hospitals here continue to be inundated with the injured, the most serious of the injured being treated first in a classic triage operation.

Maria Hinojosa is at St. Vincent hospital. She joins us on the phone.

Maria, what are you seeing and what are you hearing?

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, since about 10 o'clock this morning, there has been a steady stream of ambulances coming in to St. Vincent's, which is the central area, central hospital for the traumatized -- where they're dealing with the trauma units here.

Now, what we've seen, the most recent numbers now, there's 256 patients. 25 of them are in critical condition. Three of them have passed away, and about 30 firefighters and police have also been treated.

Just to give you an idea of the numbers, this hospital handled the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. There they saw a total of only 160 patients. They are now having well-surpassed that by a hundred, a hundred patients more or less, 256 patients now.

Mayor Giuliani arrived here about 5 minutes ago, and we went straight inside. We're expecting him to come out and address the media here. And essentially, there's a sea of green. Office chairs have been dropped with white sheets to be used instead of stretchers. Buses have been carrying hundreds of volunteers who have come to donate blood. They've been taken to other locations. And just about 2 minutes ago we saw another bus load carrying doctors and nurses who have come off: lots of doctors and nurses coming through St. Vincent's wanting to volunteer. People here saying that they are asking them to come late at night, where they're expected to be receiving patients well into the night for the next 24 hours at least -- Aaron.

BROWN: Maria, thank you. A snapshot of what is going on in any number of hospitals here in the city of New York and in the New York region. In the counties surrounding New York, this is all being played out in very much the same way.

Another snapshot, if you will. CNN producer Alec Miran is in a car in New Jersey trying to make his way to us here in the city.

Alec, can you hear me?

ALEC MIRAN, CNN PRODUCER: I can, Aaron.

BROWN: Tell me what -- tell me what is out there right now. How far are you from Manhattan?

MIRAN: Well, I'm -- I've been traveling from suburban Maryland today, trying to come up, like you said, to assist in the coverage, and it's -- it's eerie how these events are impacting travel all along the Northeast Corridor, as you know a very busy commuter area.

I went to the train station in Baltimore this morning. The train had just been canceled. People were forming car pools to get where they needed to go.

As I jumped in my car and headed north on Interstate 95 and then on to the New Jersey Turnpike, lots of signs. Serious problems, avoid New York.

On the New Jersey Turnpike -- I don't know if this is unprecedented, but it's certainly unusual -- every was funneled off of the Turnpike at exit 11, which is Perth Amboy. Ironically as you get off there, you could see the cloud of smoke still billowing out of the World Trade Center.

Lots of people have just pulled over to the side of the road and are sort of sitting there. Some have gotten binoculars from who knows where. I talked to a few of them. They said they didn't know where they were going to go, because the Turnpike was closed.

I just got here to the train station, because reports had been that perhaps train service was starting up again. In fact, it is starting, leaving the city. And they made that announcement, which was greeted by -- by smiles and quiet, a quiet nod to the head from people who are clearly waiting for loved-ones to come out of New York City.

But there's still no service into New York City, and the island remains pretty much an island.

I talked to Woodbridge...

BROWN: Alec, let me -- Alec, let me stop you there. Thank you for the snapshot. Keep working your way here. We could use the help.

Judy Woodruff in Washington. Judy, what have you got?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron, joining us now, our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow, for an update on what the members of Congress have been doing. We know they've been evacuated from the Capitol Building. But Kate, you've been learning about some of their assessment of what, what's happened?

(AUDIO GAP) WOODRUFF: I'm sorry. We don't have that audio connection with Kate. I can report that sources are telling CNN's national security correspondent, David Ensor, that there are, quote, "good indications" that people with links to the Osama bin Laden organization are responsible for today's attacks. We can't do much better right now at identifying these sources. But again, they're saying good indications.

And this is, again, no proof, but this is very much in-line with what high-ranking people have been telling us throughout this day, all the way from former NATO -- NATO commander Wesley Clark. General Wesley Clark told us hours ago and then again just a few moments ago -- we spoke with him just a few moments ago. He said that there are very few organizations that would have the sophistication, the financial resources, the organization, the network of contacts to carry out an attack this sophisticated, this organized, where you have planes hitting these key locations in the United States, in New York City, and Washington, the Pentagon within just minutes of one another.

People who could take over the cockpit of an airplane and presumably push the pilot aside -- we can't imagine that any pilot would knowingly fly an airplane into the Pentagon or into any -- any place where there were people. Some of these terrorists -- people with connections to the terrorist organizations must have been at the cockpit.

Joining us now -- and I believe he is in the studio -- George Terwilliger, who has had a career of following the activities of intelligence organization, has become an expert on terrorist activities.

I'm sorry. We're not going to go to George Terwilliger. We're going to go to White House spokeswoman, counselor Karen Hughes in Omaha.

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