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Nightmare in Mumbai; Eyewitness Accounts of Attacks; Black Friday Tragedy
Aired November 29, 2008 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Three days of hell. Terror attack. Not just committed, but sustained. CNN reporters in the middle of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... long hours, and -- OK. All right. We're -- another loud bang you heard there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So the big question here, who did it? And will they do it again?
And from a city under siege to a country held hostage tonight, thousands of tourists stranded. Now what?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're savages. They're savages. What they did this morning, they're savages. That's not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And the ugly side of what we call here Black Friday. A mad dash for bargains turns deadly. Why did this happen?
The news starts right now.
And hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN world headquarters.
It's basically a cleanup operation right now, but there are lots of unanswered questions surrounding those stunning and deadly attacks on nine different sites in Mumbai, India. We now know the death toll was high, and it could have been even worse.
At least 183 people were killed, but authorities now think the terrorists were so well armed that they planned to kill up to 5,000 people. Eighteen people died, including at least five Americans.
And new tonight, CNN has confirmed that a team of FBI agents has left the U.S. and is on its way to help out with that investigation.
From Mumbai to the U.S., CNN has reporters stationed around the world looking into all the angles of this story. This hour, you will hear from Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson on the investigation. Our Matthew Chance, he'll talk to you about the survivors. And David Mattingly will talk to us about the terror timeline here.
So who's behind these deadly attacks? A top Indian official says at least one of the terrorists was form Pakistan, but India's longtime rival denies any involvement. In fact, Pakistan's president has promised his country's full cooperation.
Let's get the very latest now from Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson in Mumbai.
Nic, my first question to you is, why are we getting such sketchy information out of investigators there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really the early stages here, Don. We were out at a couple of the investigation scenes today. We were out at the Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberoi hotel, and we were right outside Rabbi Holtzberg's house where he was gunned down and killed with his wife and a friend.
And the police investigators, we could see them in the building going through, picking up bits and pieces, searching for evidence. And they told us it's going to take perhaps weeks to go through all the evidence and then months to follow up on all the leads.
So they know there's a lot of pressure, they know they're working under the gun, ,if you will, because they know they need to find out who was behind it and find out if there's a potential for another attack. And at least they have at least one person alive. There were 11 of these attackers killed, but they have at least one person that they can question on this.
But they know they also have to sift through this evidence and use that evidence to get a conviction and to get this information, so the pressure is on. They know it. But they're just not in a position yet to say too much, but they are pointing very, very heavily towards Pakistani involvement of some sort here -- Don.
LEMON: And Nic, you know, these attackers were able to pull this off. Not only were they able to pull it off, but they were able to sustain it. And as you mentioned, 11 attackers killed. It wasn't that many people.
Is this a new wave of terror that we're looking at in the world?
ROBERTSON: It's a metamorphosis of what seems to be an indigenous Indian group, the Indian Mujahideen. That's who people are guessing is sort of the base group here that have taken in expertise perhaps from Pakistan, perhaps from Bangladesh, taken in expertise in perhaps bomb making. Maybe not even on this occasion, but in the past, or got weapons training from people, from Kashmiri fighters, terror groups there, or perhaps Bangladeshi terror groups. And they've also taken on some of the al-Qaeda ideology.
And it is a sort of jihadi group in metamorphosis in change. And in terms of India, because they went after foreigners, because these were these gun attacks rather than bomb attacks, which are much more typical here, that represents change.
But for the Indian government, there can't be any assumption at this stage that that's going to be the modus operandi in the future, that innocent Indians won't become the targets again as they have been so much in the past. They can't assume bombs won't be used again in the future.
So if the Indian government to find out if this group is capable of striking again, where or when they might be wanting to strike again, is of the utmost important -- Don.
LEMON: Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson.
We appreciate that, Nic.
And Mumbai's once luxurious Taj Mahal hotel is now a scene of bombed- out blackened rooms and also shattered glass. This is where the siege has come to an end.
CNN's Andrew Stevens brings us up to date on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hours after Indian special forces shot dead the last remaining terrorist in their holdout in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, first pictures from inside the battered building. These scenes from the lobby area and the surrounding rooms show the damage, but don't reveal the full extent of the two-and-a- half day siege of one of this country's premier hotels.
News that the battle was over emerged early Saturday morning. The security operations continued through the day.
(on camera): As the military moves to detonate hand grenades still inside the hotel, and as commandos go room to room, authorities are warning that the death toll could rise.
(voice-over): The Taj was still burning hours after the final gun battle, and parts of the hotel where some of the most intense fighting happened, were clearly visible from the outside. Shattered and burnt- out rooms both in the lower and upper parts of the hotel. Towels still hung from window frames where guests trapped had used them to signal they were still alive.
Descriptions of the scenes inside both this hotel and the five-star Oberoi Trident hotel nearby are now beginning to emerge.
PAUL ARCHER, OBEROI HOTEL SURVIVOR: The bomb went off just outside my window. And after that, I started to panic a little. It struck home a little bit more when you walked through and you saw the lobby all smashed up and there's blood everywhere that something major (ph) has happened.
JAMIE BENSON, AUSTRALIAN VISITOR: All of the Trident hotel was all just smashed in, there was blood splattered everywhere. The poor security guards, the doormen, really nice, they had been shot, I heard, I found out. All the front of the glass was shattered.
STEVENS: Several foreigners are now known to have died in the attacks, but it was the local population that bore the brunt of this violence. Funerals were held Saturday across the city, including a service for Mumbai's anti-terror chief, Hemant Karkare, who died on Wednesday night in a shootout at the metro cinema targeted by the government. But amid this tragedy, some heartfelt thanks to the military which finally brought this city's nightmare to an end.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And for days, the terror unfolded across Mumbai. In addition to the Taj Mahal hotel, the terrorists target another luxury hotel, the Oberoi. Thirty-six bodies were found there.
They also hit Leopold's Cafe, a popular hangout for western tourists, and a railway terminal, one of India's busiest. Now, other targets included a Jewish center, where five hostages died, and two hospitals as well.
Coming up at the half-hour, CNN's David Mattingly will take a closer look at the terror timeline for us.
The deaths at the hotel Oberoi include at least five Americans. They include Alan Scherr, a 58-year-old American. He is from Virginia. He was with 20 other members of a community called Synchronicity, which promotes meditation. His 13-year-old daughter Naomi was also killed. Four others from the group were hold as well.
Twenty-nine-year-old Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg was killed at the Jewish center. He held dual Israeli and American citizenships. He was born in Israel, but moved to New York as a child. His wife Rivka also was killed, but their 2-year-old son was smuggled out of the house yesterday by a cook and is said to be safe.
Well, the eyewitnesses to the Mumbai attacks have some amazing stories to tell. Here's what they have to say about the dramatic scenes they saw.
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JONATHAN EHRLICH, ESCAPED FROM THE OBEROI HOTEL: The first bomb went off and I got out of bed and went to the window. And as I got to the window, a huge sort of cloud of gray smoke was coming up from the road. And I knew something was up.
MARK ABELL, ESCAPED FROM OBEROI HOTEL: The hotel shook with an immense blast. About three, four minutes later, there was another large blast. The whole building was shaking. I looked outside and could see crowds running. There was a hail of gunshots. It looked all -- very, very nasty.
PATEL: While I was on a conference call, I heard two large noises, and they sounded like thuds from within the room. And that's when we realized that there was something serious happening. When I heard the two thuds, that's when I looked out to the window on to my left. I could see the Oberoi hotel. There was a restaurant in the Oberoi hotel which was under flames.
DEEPAK DATTA, ESCAPED FROM THE TAJ HOTEL: Heavy machinegun fire in the stairwell right where I was. So it looks like the commandos were basically chasing these guys who were taking people out, because two guys, they ran up. No, two guys ran down from the hostages. So they ran away.
JAMIE BENSON, ESCAPED FROM OBEROI HOTEL: We barricaded ourselves in there, put a bed against it to absorb any blasts coming out. And we just waited there for like 30, 34 hours, or something like that.
PAUL ARCHER, ESCAPED FROM OBEROI HOTEL: After a few hours, it just seemed like it was all surreal, it wasn't really happening. You know? Like, you could hear the bombs outside, but, you know, I put on a DVD. I was clearing out the mini-bar and thinking, this is just going to be over soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew that we couldn't get out through the normal exits. And we also saw a little bit of the fire coming our way. You know, certain ashes and things. And we knew that if we stayed there for long, we would be trapped.
So some people inside the room decided to break the windows and tried to pull down the curtains so that the fire would not come into that side. And we then -- when we finished doing that (INAUDIBLE). And we climbed down from the ladder and the firemen saved us.
BRUCE SCOTT, ESCAPED FROM TAJ HOTEL: We heard some noise outside. We didn't see or hear anybody, we didn't see terrorists. But when I looked through, I saw what looked like police. They were wearing armor and -- body armor. They had weapons.
So I kind of tapped on the door, you know, and made a little, "Hello, I'm in here." I was afraid if I ran out in the hall, they might think I was a bad guy. So we were very careful about that. They came in, they checked our credentials, they looked at our passports, they made sure the room was clean, and they brought us out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Boy, hard to hear that and to see those pictures. And we want to know what you think about all of this. What's on your mind tonight?
Make sure you log on to Facebook, to MySpace, or iReport.com, and tell us what you're thinking. We really want to hear from you and get some of your responses on the air. Are you concerned about a terrorist attack here? Let us know.
All right. There were warnings of an impending terror attack, but they weren't enough. We'll take a closer look at what was and what wasn't done.
More from Mumbai straight ahead.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came down the floor with an Australian man and a South African man and a Chinese man, and the two of us, as Americans. And it was dark, and there was blood all over the steps. Thank God they took the bodies away, because it would have been so hard.
And everybody grabbed hands. And there was a woman's heel. And we were just standing there, and you know that people had died before as we were walking out.
So we are so grateful that the Passage of India tour group came through and helped us every hour, every step of the way, that the commandos were so powerful. We felt so protected. They did such a phenomenal job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Was there a warning about the India terror attacks that led to three days of terror in its largest city, Mumbai? The owner of the Taj Mahal hotel spoke to CNN's Fareed Zakaria earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RATAN TATA, TAJ MAHAL HOTEL OWNER: It's ironic that we did have such a warning and we did have some measures to -- you know, where people couldn't park their cars in the portico, where you had to go through a metal detector. But if I look at what we had, which all of us complained about, it could not have stopped what took place.
They didn't come through that entrance. They came from somewhere in the back. They planned everything.
I believe the first thing they did is they shot a sniffer dog and his handler. They went through the kitchen. They knew what they were doing and they did not go through the front.
The whole affair is just devastating because it was so well planned and it did so much damage. It took such a loss of life.
People were shot point-blank. They were -- they sprayed bullets from automatic weapons. They lobbed grenades. And they did this for three days, and that's truly devastating.
I understand the top floor of the hotel is gutted. But we're all committed that we will build back this hotel to what it is. However long it takes, whatever it takes, this hotel will stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And you can see Fareed Zakaria's entire interview with Ratan Tata tomorrow on "GPS" at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific. They were well prepared, they were well armed, and they caused enormous devastation in Mumbai. But who are they?
Let's get on the trail of the terrorists with terrorism consultant Malcolm Nance. He's also the author of "The Terrorist Recognition Handbook."
So Malcolm, the obvious question is, how do you recognize a terrorist?
MALCOLM NANCE, TERRORISM CONSULTANT: Well, in this circumstance, what we've seen is, unfortunately, the terrorists managed to get to what we call the seventh stage of terrorism, which is they've presented themselves and carried out their act. We call that the point of failure.
Obviously, all counterterrorism and antiterrorism is going to involve an intelligence measure which allows us to determine what kind of terrorist activities could occur. All the systems for the Indian intelligence program broke down, and the act occurred.
LEMON: You said everything broke down. Explain. What do you mean by that?
NANCE: Well, first off, you really have to drive your intelligence collection against any terrorist group way outside of your own borders. Obviously, if these people came from Pakistan, or had associations with Pakistan, or even if they were domestic Indians, your intelligence forces have to be capable of go out and sussing out who's collecting weapons, who's collecting ammunition, who's collecting large amounts of plastic explosives. And then, of course, you want to try to push that out to your armed forces, your Navy, your Coast Guard.
And as we saw here, this may have involved a mother ship and a small boat landing. Well, you have to try to intercept them at that level. Then at the last stage, you really have to get them as they're moving to the target. And that's where your police and local law enforcement come in.
LEMON: I've got to tell you, I've been sitting and watching these pictures come over during the holidays, and the big question, and I'm not sure if I heard it answered, but why Mumbai? Obviously it's, you know, because of the Taj Mahal and because of landmarks.
But why Mumbai? Why not New Delhi? Why not another city in India? Why at all?
NANCE: Well, Mumbai is the economic heart of India, it's the center of Bollywood, where all the movies are made. And everyone in South Asia and throughout Asia who watches television has seen that.
Also, it's a water-born city, so you have far more avenues of entrance into the city itself that avoid the police and law enforcement. And it's a city of 20 million people. It is an extremely dense city, so every street in Mumbai looks like Times Square. It's completely dense. You have lots and lots of people which you can harm if you carry out an attack there.
LEMON: Yes. All right. Very good answer to that question. And because it will garner the kind of attention that it's getting now. Thank you, sir.
Malcolm Nance.
We appreciate it.
NANCE: It's my pleasure.
LEMON: Also, we want to know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you log on to Twitter, to Facebook, MySpace, or iReport.com, and tell us what you're thinking. And we'll get your responses on the air.
The holiday rush for a bargain turns deadly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're savages. They're savages. What they did this morning, they're savages. That's not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We're going to tell you the ugly side of Black Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Well, we call it retail therapy. Millions of Americans are not intimidated by huge crowds or the ailing economy. Shoppers turned out in force yesterday to take advantage of some deep discounts on Black Friday. That's the official start of the holiday shopping season. But experts predict some six million fewer shoppers -- six million fewer -- will hit the stores over the weekend.
Long Island police may seek criminal charges after a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death in a predawn Black Friday shopping frenzy.
Jackie Lukas with CNN affiliate News 12 Long Island talked to witnesses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIMBERLY GIBBS, SHOPPER: They're savages. They're savages. What they did this morning, they're savages. That's not right.
JACKIE LUKAS, NEWS 12 LONG ISLAND REPORTER (voice-over): Kimberly Gibbs (ph) still can't get over what she witnessed. This is cell phone video of EMT surrounding a store employee trying to save his life. He died after being trampled by hundreds of Black Friday shoppers who pushed their way into this Wal-Mart at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
TERRENCE HOWARD, SHOPPER: They had no control of the crowd. Security guards couldn't stop the people from coming in. LUKAS: As soon as employees unlocked the doors at 5:00 a.m., cops say the crowd of more than 2,000 poured in. The shoppers physically broke down the doors to get inside, stampeding to the sales and knocking down the store employee, 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica Queens. Police say hundreds of people ran over him as other employees tried to help.
DET. LT. MICHAEL FLEMMING, NASSAU COUNTY POLICE: First officers at the scene attempted to give first aid to this victim. And as they were giving first aid, those police officers were also jostled and pushed by this crowd of shoppers rushing and forcing their way into the store.
LUKAS: Police also say a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to the hospital, but she and the baby are OK. Five others suffered minor injuries. Even after the tragedy, some people were still trying to shop in the store.
GIBBS: When they were saying that they had to leave, that somebody -- an employee got killed, people were in there yelling, "I've been in line since yesterday morning."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought everybody said it was fun to come on Black Friday and shop. I was looking for fun, not for this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, Wal-Mart released a statement about what happened Friday saying, "We expected a large crowd this morning and added additional internal security, additional third party security, additional store associates. And we worked closely with the Nassau County Police. We also erected barricades. Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred."
Hour after hour, day after day, the world held its breath as terrorists held hostages and battled commandos in Mumbai. The aftermath is only beginning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALOK VAJPEYI, MUMBAI SURVIVOR: As we were walking and some crawling through the restaurant, I looked to the left. The door was opened and I presume it's a dead body because the man had blood on his white shirt. And he was lying on the floor. That is when I understood that this is more serious than it possibly could be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Eyewitness accounts firsthand from a survivor of the terror attacks in the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, a situation that began Wednesday and lasted well until late Friday. Here's the very latest for you.
With the standoff over, the primary focus is identifying the group responsible for the attacks on several targets around India's biggest city. Pakistan's president says he will cooperate fully with the investigation. His country has been linked by Indian government officials to the attacks, but he denies it. Indian officials say they found cell phones on a hijacked boat, and they say the calls logged on those phones were placed to Pakistan.
Authorities are searching the Taj Mahal hotel room by room, looking for any more victims and any more clues.
Meantime, today mourners gathered to bury the dead. At least 183 people were killed in the coordinated attacks.
It was utter chaos, as many of you have been seeing the pictures and hearing eyewitness accounts.
Here's CNN's David Mattingly with a timeline of what happened in India and when.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bursts of gunfire, grenade attacks and death.
PATRICIA SCOTT, TERROR ATTACK SURVIVOR: It was dark and there was blood all over the steps.
MATTINGLY: Within moments, Mumbai, a city of 18 million, is under siege. A timeline of terror begins Wednesday evening. Between 8:00 and 9:00, the killers enter from the harbor, arriving in dingies. "Newsweek" magazine reports the militants encounter fishermen, telling them to mind their business, before splitting up into small groups and fanning out across Mumbai.
Their targets, luxury hotel, a hospital, cafes, the Chabad House Jewish Center and a train station.
Around 9:30 p.m., the highly coordinated attack is underway.
SCOTT: We heard shots. We saw men running down our hallway and we could see through the peephole in the door, we could see guns in their hands. They actually rang our doorbell two times.
MATTINGLY: Within the next few hours, the horror sets in.
ANTHONY ROSE, TERROR WITNESS: They were using hand grenades to try to blow in doors. Then they seemed to retreat from that and started on other areas of the hotel. We could hear people, it seemed like, being dragged up to the roofs of the hotel.
MATTINGLY: During the first night, the gunmen kill dozens, injure hundreds and take scores of hostages.
Early Thursday morning, the fight intensifies. Explosions rock the Taj Mahal Hotel. And a huge plume of smoke rises into the night.
By daybreak, the terror remains. Gunmen continue to hold hostages. Some are freed by soldiers and police officers.
SCOTT: Everybody grabbed hands. And there was a woman's heel. They were just standing there and you knew people had died before as we're walking out.
MATTINGLY: Friday, the assault on the Trident Oberoi Hotel ends with at least two extremists dead and more than 100 guests free.
But there are casualties. Among the killed, two Americans, Alan Scherr and his 13-year-old daughter, Naomi.
At the Chabad House, where government forces had surrounded the building, the standoff ends. When officer enter the center, they find two gunmen dead and also recover bodies of five hostages.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thousands gathered at the city's largest park to say farewell to the head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad. Gunmen shot him three times outside a major hospital, one of the nine sights the attackers targeted Wednesday night. He was one of at least 17 police officers killed in the attack.
One moment, all was normal, and then, there was chaos. Survivors of the Mumbai attacks say they had no warnings and only seconds to try to escape.
Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Nearly four days of terror, plunging India's financial capital into chaos. Survivors tell harrowing stories of escape. The two hotels at the center of the attacks, favorites of India's elite and foreigners alike.
PAUL ARCHER, BRITISH SURVIVOR: The bomb went off outside my window. After that I decided to panic a little bit. But when I came out through the lobby and saw the blood all over the floor.
GAUTAM PATEL, WITNESS: While I was on a conference call, I heard two large noises and they sounded like tugs from within the room. That's when we realized that there was something serious happening.
CHANCE: As groups of attackers stormed the hotels and battled Indian security forces, survivors who didn't make it out hid in their rooms, bolting doors, desperately hoping they'd be saved.
JAMIE BENSON, AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR: We barricades ourselves in there, put a bed against it to absorb any blasts coming out. We just waited there for like 34 hours or something like that.
CHANCE: For some rescued by India's security forces came too late, but many who did survive have praised the Indian army who took more than three days to bring the longest-running siege in the Taj to an end.
VINKA CLEMMETT, SURVIVOR: We're grateful we're out. We think that the Indian army were magnificent. We were in our room 36 hours. But strangely, we felt quiet. It was pretty shocking when the bomb went off, but we kind of felt at peace.
CHANCE: But it is peace in a city may never feel quite the same.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: President Bush with First Lady Laura Bush at his side, addressed the attacks, condemning terrorism and reaffirming India's resilience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The killers who struck this week are brutal and violent. But terror will not have the final word. People of India are resilient. People of India are strong. They have built a vibrant, multi-ethnic democracy that can with stand this trial. Their financial capital of Mumbai will continue to be the center of commerce and prosperity. The leaders of India can know that nations around the world support them in the face of this assault on human dignity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And President-elect Barack Obama mirrored President Bush's sentiments in this statement. He said, "These terrorists who targeted innocent civilians will not defeat India's great democracy, nor shake the will of a global coalition to defeat them. The United States must stand with India and all nations and people who are committed to destroying terrorist networks and defeating their hate-filled ideology."
We've been asking you for your feedback today and you have lots of comments on these attacks.
Here's what Terrece says, "It's more of when and who, not what if, we had attacks from our own people from Oklahoma City. 9/11 happened because they were persistent."
And MomsWhoSave says, "It's scary, but you can't live your life differently. I didn't after 9/11, and won't now.
Starmusica says, "I don't feel like the fear of an attack here has ever really gone away. India has only made the possibility feel more imminent."
Make sure to logon to any of those platforms that you see there on our screen. Tell us what you're thinking. We'll get your responses on the air. We certainly appreciate them in a time like this.
There's also another international crisis unfolding as we speak. More than 100,000 people are stranded in Thailand after protesters took over the nation's airport. We'll take you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We've been talking to you about India, but we want to tell you about the country that is virtually under siege. This is India. We've been focusing on the Mumbai terror. But there's another international crisis unfolding right now. This one in Thailand. Anti-government protesters have seized two airports in Bangkok, stranding about 100,000 travelers. Earlier, hundreds of protesters charged a police check point, sending dozens of officers fleeing. The turmoil has paralyzed Thailand's government and severely damaged the economy. Now, stuck tourists are wondering when they'll get home.
Let's go right to it. Our international correspondent, Dan Rivers, is there.
Dan, tell us what the situation is now. We still have hundreds of thousands of tourist trapped?
DAN RIVERS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and there's about 130 passengers a day missing flights out of Bangkok's International Airport, which is currently under the control of an anti-government protest group. They are still here. I'm at the airport now. and through the day and night, they continued with their rally, blocking all flights in and out. It's a pretty desperate situation.
LEMON: Tell us, Dan, how this all start, will you? Take us back to the beginning.
RIVERS: This protest group has basically calling for the downfall of the previous prime minister, Taxin Shenawah (ph), for the last couple of years. They've been holding these huge rallies. He was finally ousted in a coup in2006 and then, since then, they've been calling for the resignation of the men that have replaced him as prime minister, saying that Taxin (ph) is still pulling the strings. They say that Taxin (ph) is corrupt, that he's corrupting democracy here and the whole institution of the entire democracy is under threat.
So this standoff has been going on, but now, they're taking it to a whole new level, blocking the airport, really bringing the country to its knees. The government here is in a very difficult position. The army and police say they're unwilling to go in and disperse the protesters. And really the country is in social paralysis.
LEMON: That takes me to my next point. Why won't they go in? Are these people armed heavily? What is the concern from police about not going in to disperse them?
RIVERS: I think the police and the army are concerned that they will be a blood bath if they go in. There's about 10,000 protesters here, more at another airport, and more still at government house. The army also -- there's a sort of political dimension to the army here. They have steadfastly refused to do what the prime minister tells them to do. It's basically a power struggle that's going on with the protesters in one corner, the government in the other and the army sort of caught in the middle, unwilling to take sides. LEMON: It's amazing. All of this unrest we have happening overseas.
We appreciate it, Dan Rivers. Will you be safe there, sir?
RIVERS: I'll try.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much.
Mexico's crack down on drug cartels is getting some violent resistance. In gorilla fashion, 12 men with guns stormed a restaurant in Juras (ph), Mexico, near the El Paso, Texas border. Eight died in the shootout, the latest of hundreds of deaths in that city.
Here's something you don't often here. A protester is offering a plea deal to an 8-year-old -- and 8-year-old -- I should say, a prosecutor, is offering a plea deal to an 8-year-old boy from Arizona charged with murdering his father and another man. Remember our reporting on that last week and the week before? We talked about this police interrogation tape that there was question about, and one charge being dropped against the young boy. One murder charge.
We have been following this story since it happened, and here's the very latest. The prosecutor says he will consider dropping charges against the boy, but with a condition. The deal depends on the outcome of the boy's mental health evaluation. Police say the 8-year- old confessed during an interrogation which drew controversy once that video was released. But they have not yet released the motive behind all of this. We will surely follow that story. It's garnered much of your attention and the media's attention as well.
If you're traveling anywhere between Chicago and the east coast, pack your patience. CNN's Jackie Jeras has a latest on your travel forecast.
Hi, Jacqui.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This weekend marks the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season. It runs from June 1st to November 30th. This year was the fourth most active since 1944, a total of 16 named storms and five major hurricanes. The worst hitting the U.S. was Hurricane Ike, which tore through the Texas gulf coast. Insured damage, more than Ike, topped $8 billion -- insurance damage of Ike topped more than $8 billion.
The power of Ike is still evident on Oak Island, Texas. Almost three months after the hurricane hit, dozens of families are still living in tents. Almost all the homes on the island were destroyed. FEMA recently sent about 40 mobile homes there, far fewer than needed. Only about half have the right connections so families can't move in. The Cabrera's are among the lucky families in a mobile home where, Thanksgiving weekend, they say they're worried about their neighbors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARYA CABRERA, HURRICANE IKE SURVIVOR: The response for Katrina was so fast that I thought it would be a couple of weeks, three weeks. There's still people in Oak Island that are in tents, or that are in a trailer with three or four families in there. My heart goes out to them.
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LEMON: FEMA has offered apartments or hotel rooms to people whose homes were destroyed. But some of those accommodations are several hours away. Best of luck to them.
Our Jacqui Jeras joins us now.
Jackie, we have a bit of a mess out there for traveling. From Tallahassee to Atlanta, had some bumpy weather, delays.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And you would know, wouldn't you?
LEMON: I would know.
JERAS: You had a little travel trouble today, didn't you?
LEMON: Huh?
JERAS: You had a little travel trouble today, didn't you, Don?
LEMON: I did. I felt like I was there forever. I'm tired.
JERAS: I hate it when that happens. Did you have a good book, I hope?
LEMON: I had a great Thanksgiving. How was your Thanksgiving? I haven't seen you.
JERAS: It was very good. Non-traditional Thanksgiving brunch this year.
LEMON: You did? Tell me about it?
JERAS: I'll tell you about it later.
LEMON: No, I want to hear. What did you do? Come on.
JERAS: It was good. We had brunch. My family, my mom, her sister and her family. It was all good.
LEMON: Not on the air. Are you hearing them?
JERAS: I posted it on my Facebook page. I feel fat and happy after Thanksgiving dinner. I've had lots of comments on it.
LEMON: That's good.
JERAS: Absolutely. Don had trouble getting into Atlanta Hartsfield- Jackson Airport. And folks that are trying to do that at this hour are still having the same trouble.
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JERAS: Don, we're glad you made it back.
LEMON: Thank you. It's good to be back. I'm glad you had a non- traditional brunch. And we'll talk more about that because I had a very good Thanksgiving, too. And I hope all our viewers did as well.
JERAS: Good. Can't wait to hear.
LEMON: All right, Jacqui. Thank you very much. By the way, I like the boots.
We are going to continue our terror here in India and talk about the sad stories, about families held hostage there. And we'll take you inside the attack at a Jewish center in Mumbai when we come back.
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DAVID JACOBS, WITNESS: I was in my room. I heard a series of loud explosions. I thought it might have been construction to start with. I then started to think it wasn't. I then had a look over the atrium. It was clear to me this was a terrorist attack. I went back inside my room and barricaded the door.
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LEMON: Want to update you now on the situation in Mumbai. The death toll was high and it reportedly could have been even worse. At least 183 people were killed. But authorities now think the terrorists were so well armed that they planned to kill up to 5,000 people. 18 people died, including at least five Americans. And CNN has confirmed that a team of FBI agents has left the U.S. and is on the way to help with that investigation.
And also, inside a Jewish community center, Indian officials found the bodies of five hostages. Among the dead were an American rabbi and his wife.
CNN's Nic Robertson is there.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Explosions ripped through the air as gunshots echo off the tightly packed walls of this densely populated Mumbai neighborhood. Everyone, it seem, was watching. Everyone wanting to know what was happening to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his family.
Commandos, airlifted hours earlier onto the roof of his Chabad house, were desperately searching for ways to save him. His wife held hostage by Islamic extremists a few floors below. The situation confusing.
Then, in the last hour of daylight, intense commando activity. Smoke billows from a massive explosion. Heavy equipment pulled up from the ground. Out of sight, more commandos roped down the building and in through the wall that they'd just blown open.
As the light fades, more gunfire, more explosions. But no information. We head down to the street as the mood changes.
(on camera): The rumor is that the standoff is over. There's quite a jubilant situation here. People on the roofs have been cheering. People on the streets are now pushing to get forward, pushing see what's going on. We're going to take a look.
Is it possible -- is it possible to go forward at the moment? Is the situation over?
(voice-over): We are told nothing.
(on camera): It's just not clear if it's over at the moment. Everyone down the street is pushing. We're inching forward to take a look. At the moment, we're being held back though.
(voice-over): It turns out, with good reason. Police clear the streets. There are more explosions. Then, rumors turn sadly real. The rabbi, his wife, and three unidentified others are dead.
As the police chief approaches the crowd to greet them, an ambulance takes away a lone body.
(on camera): After 48 hours, the siege here, over. It will resonate through this community for the weeks and months to come. They will know that they are no longer as safe as they thought they once were.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Mumbai, India.
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LEMON: We'll have much more on Mumbai and Thailand coming up at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here in the CNN "NEWSROOM." I'm Don Lemon.
"After Party, Where We Go from Here," begins in a moment. But first, a recap of our top stories.
Here's what's happening right now in the news. There are lots of unanswered questions surrounding those stunning and deadly, those terror attacks in Mumbai, India. At least 183 people were killed. But authorities now think the terrorists were so well armed that they planned to kill up to 5,000. 18 people died, including at least five Americans. And CNN has confirmed that a team of FBI agents is on its way to help with the investigation.
