Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Fate of 243 People Remains Unknown; Tensions Rise in Ukraine; Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Dies; Search for Flight 370; Analyzing Sounds from Cockpit Recorders; Boston Strong A Year Later

Aired April 20, 2014 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto in again today for Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us and a very Happy Easter.

It is just after dawn in South Korea Monday morning there where millions of people are desperately clinging to the slim chance that by some miracle, someone is still alive on that sunken ferry. Realistic hope, however, is clearly fading.

Five agonizing days have passed since the ship tipped over and sank with hundreds on board. Most of the passengers, teenagers on a high school trip.

The new figure today, 59 people have now been found by rescue divers, none of them alive. Two hundred forty-three people are still inside that ferry.

And I'm about to play for you the frantic audio conversation between the crew of the ship and boat traffic controllers on shore just as tragedy struck.

This is what was happening when the ferry started listing and someone had to make the call to abandon ship.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JINDO VTS: Sewol, this is Jindo VTS, do you copy? How is the flooded condition?

SEWOL: It is listed more than 50 degrees to the port side and people are not able to move from left to right.

We've alerted the crew members to wear life jacket and wait. It is impossible to confirm whether or not they wore (life jackets). Crew members are at the bridge and are unable to move. Please hurry.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: You can hear the panic in their voices here. And people who survived the sinking say that by that point the ferry was already tipped over so sharply that the life boats had become useless.

Now, just eight minutes later, controllers were urging the captain, though, to order everyone off the ship. Have a listen to this report. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JINDO VTS: The captain should make decision to make people escape. We do not know the situation so captain make final decision on passengers' escape.

SEWOL: That's not what I meant. If passengers escape, can they be immediately rescued?

JINDO VTS: Patrol ship should arrive in 10 minutes.

SEWOL: Ten minutes?

JINDO VTS: Yes, 10 minutes! Ten minutes!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: You can hear the panic, the stress in those voices there. Of course, that order to evacuate the ship didn't apparently happen. And now, you have heartbreaking moments captured on camera. Searchers bring bodies of ferry victims back on to shore.

And because many of those dead are high school students, just teenagers, the search effort is taking its toll on everyone, even veteran emergency workers.

Our Kyung Lah is live in Jindo, South Korea. She's been there from really the beginning of this story.

And we know that, Kyung, that, of course, the families suffering the most here. But it's incredible to see those, you know, grizzled veterans breaking down really the emotion just too much for them.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And responded to similar disasters, large disasters here in South Korea and are certainly being affected, because this is all happening in the open, these boats coming back to port where the families are waiting. Hundreds of parents waiting on their children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): The first police boat returns from the search site. Parents waiting, bracing. They return one by one in identical plain white bags. Behind the screen initial inspection, a blanket to cover. And a short march back to land.

Parents rush to the white tents to identify their children. "You must have said, daddy save me", weeps this father.

No one is immune to the sound of losing a child.

As the families leave the tents, so, too, do the stretchers emptied, returning to the gurneys that await the next boat.

Another group of someone's children, another march back to the tents. Thirteen return in this group, but more than 200 are still missing. Gurneys on the left side of the dock. Divers board ships to the right to continue the search, to bring the rest home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: And in a telling sign that hope is dimming, this port, this area that we've seen so many parents standing by the dock looking out at sea, waiting for their children, there are fewer and fewer parents, Jim, who are doing so -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, we've seen, Kyung, this accelerate, bringing some of those bodies ashore. We spoke yesterday how it is dangerous for the divers to come in. That's changed now, is that right?

LAH: It has changed, because there have been now a clear path cut into the hull of the ship. There are a number of entryways that divers can go in and out. That was the big challenge.

They couldn't figure out how to crack the windows, there's so much pressure inside the ship. They've been able to do that. There are five pathways in and out. So, that's why we've seen the acceleration of victims being pulled out.

There is -- at least some of the parents here, there's a slim hope that there might be an air pocket in there. But so far, Jim, they have not found any survivors.

SCIUTTO: Heartbreaking to watch, just bringing back bad news from there, those rescuers.

Thanks very much to Kyung Lah in Jindo, South Korea.

Turning now to the hunt for Malaysia Flight 370 -- families are furious after today's special briefing with the new Malaysian committee that was designed to help them. Family members say the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was totally useless. It is their 45th day of waiting.

Our Sumnima Udas has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNINA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, Malaysia families for the most part have been keeping to themselves. They're in no mood to talk. They say they don't want to believe anything or say anything until they see some sort of evidence. So, as you can imagine, there was a lot of expectation when family members of those on board MH370 were called for a special briefing by Malaysian authorities. Many, though, left even more disappointed.

(voice-over): They've been waiting for weeks, hoping, praying for good news. Families of passengers and crew members on board MH370 arrived for a briefing with Malaysian airlines and government officials, some anxious, others visibly distraught. Escorted by caretakers, two Chinese women can barely hold themselves.

After the briefing, even more frustration.

(on camera): The briefing with families of MH370 ended just a while ago. We've seen them walk out, many unsatisfied. They say they ask numerous questions but most remain unanswered. Questions on why the flight path is still unclear. How authorities can say the plane ended in the Indian Ocean when there's no evidence?

MAHZAH ZAMUDDIN, DEPUTY MINISTER, FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I can completely understand their need to find answers. However, as I see it in the briefing just now, we are looking for the answers ourselves.

UDAS (voice-over): Hamid Ramlan took this photo of his daughter and son-in-law just before they boarded MH370. They were on their way to Beijing for their honeymoon. It was their first trip out of Malaysian.

HAMID RAMLAN, FATHER OF MISSING MH370 PASSENGER: I believe that the government didn't try to hide something or hide any information from us. They are telling the truth. But then mostly the members of the victims, the families, they do not want to believe.

UDAS: His wife is one of them.

RAMLAN: My wife cannot accept it. She still believes that the airplane was hijacked and she believed that my daughter is still alive.

UDAS: It's a common sentiment here. The families have been asked by Malaysian authorities to provide details on what kind of financial assistance they may require and what can be done to help them move on? Before those believe that their loved ones are still alive, this is not what they came to hear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDAS: What they want is answers to very specific questions, Jim. But unfortunately more than a month after the plane disappeared, authorities here have very little to give them -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Thanks, Sumnima, in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

Back here in U.S., Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer whose career was cut short after being wrongly convicted of murder has died. Coming up, we're going to take a look back at his remarkable life.

Plus, is Vladimir Putin longing for the days of the Soviet Union? Strong words from the prime minister of Ukraine. That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: A second deadly air strike targeting al Qaeda has hit Yemen today. The suspected drone strike killed at least a dozen people including a number of suspected al Qaeda militants in a southwestern province of that country. That's according to a Yemeni government official. Yesterday, another strike in a neighboring province killed ten suspected al Qaeda members.

A source says that Saturday's strike was targeting three well-known operatives linked to a terror training camp there. Three civilians were also killed in that attack.

And now to Ukraine. In an effort to de-escalate the crisis there is on shaky ground today. A deadly shooting in a Ukrainian town controlled by Russian separatists leaves several dead. This is the latest example of why some think this is all part of an elaborate plan by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Listen to what the prime minister of Ukraine had to say today on NBC's "Meet the Press" about Russia's intentions there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARSENIY YATSENYUK, UKRAINE PRIME MINISTER: President Putin has a dream to restore the Soviet Union. And every day, he goes further and further and God knows where is the final destination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Anton Fedyashin. He's executive director of the initiative for Russian culture at American University.

First, Anton, if I could ask you about what the Ukrainian prime minister said today. We saw Russian action in Crimea succeeded effectively annexing that place. And now, you see activity in eastern Ukraine, activity by Russian separatists, et cetera. Do you believe that President Putin is trying to reclaim territory lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

ANTON FEDYASHIN, EXEC. DIRECTOR, INITIATIVE FOR RUSSIAN CULTURE: I don't think, Jim, I don't think this is what President Putin is trying to do, although there certainly have been moves by the Russians especially in Crimea that are easily mistaken for that.

I think what Prime Minister Yatsenyuk is doing is reinforcing a very dangerous illusion that all of Ukraine's problems are being caused by Russia, as if the Ukrainian political elite hasn't been ruling that country for almost a generation and it's not in large part responsible for all of the problems that that country is going through right now.

SCIUTTO: Well, that's a fair point that there's a lot of responsibility spread around, but let's talk specifically about what's happening in eastern Ukraine now. You have pro-Russian militants that U.S. officials believe are not acting on their own but are directed by Moscow. So, Moscow, in the view of the U.S. administration, guilty of their own meddling there. I mean, without clawing back territory Soviet-style here, can Russia still accomplish its objectives by destabilizing the situation in eastern Ukraine?

FEDYASHIN: Jim, I don't think that the Russian goal is really to destabilize Ukraine. I think the Russian goal is to ensure that there's a federalized Ukraine that comes out of this crisis. But remember, Russia is the largest direct investor in eastern Ukrainian industry. It also has an enormous amount of gas going through Ukraine.

It is not in Russia's interests to see this country implode in a civil war. It will completely undermine the billions of dollars that Russia has been investing in Ukraine.

SCIUTTO: Well, no one wants a civil war, I imagine. But you have activity here that is not accepted and, again, this is the view of U.S. and European officials accepted by international law as a way of accomplishing goals there, sending in armed groups of men to take over government buildings, this type of thing. Are you saying that that's a reasonable way to push for a more federalist system inside Ukraine?

FEDYASHIN: Absolutely not. But we have no direct proof that this is actually happening. As a matter of fact today, the head of the OSCE mission in the region stated this clearly in an interview, there are signs this may be going on, but there's absolutely no direct proof. What there is direct proof of is that the anti-terrorist campaign that Kiev launched against the eastern region simply dissolved in front of the whole world's eyes as the local population did not want to see a military solution to the crisis.

So I think we're all left with having to believe what President Putin has said, which is that Russia wants a diplomatic solution. And this is the perfect time for the U.S., for the Europeans and the Russians and the Ukrainians to come together and start moving along incrementally with the Geneva accord.

SCIUTTO: Well, after what happened in Crimea, do you believe Putin's expressions of interests in a solution are credible?

FEDYASHIN: I think they are, because to swallow up the eastern part of Ukraine will be such an enormous financial burden for Russia, that I simply don't see how someone who is as coldly rational and calculating as Putin would actually ever believe that this is something he can pull off, not to mention the enormous diplomatic blow back that this will create.

SCIUTTO: All right. Well, thanks very much to Anton Fedyashin with the American University in Washington, with one view of the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

FEDYASHIN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Back here in the U.S., thousands of marijuana lovers have traveled to Denver for the cannabis cup. But they say don't be fooled by the music and party. They're there for a real cause. We'll have that right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Here in the U.S. tens of thousands of people around the world have traveled to Denver this weekend and, no, it's not to celebrate Easter.

That's right. The Mile High City is celebrating getting high. Ana Cabrera right in the middle of the 420 Festival. So, what do they say they're there for, besides the obvious?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, people are here to celebrate the marijuana lifestyle. That's what we're told, of course, at 420 everybody is now enjoying their marijuana here at Civic Center Park, although it is still illegal, let me remind you, to consume marijuana in public. They're celebrating their advancement in the legalization of marijuana here in Colorado, which many people consider the cannabis capital now of the country.

They're also here to call for the end of prohibition of marijuana nationwide. If you look at our latest CNN/ORC poll, we know that Americans now support some form of legalization of marijuana. But 20 states now advancing the laws that will allow medicinal marijuana to help treat cancer patients, treat epilepsy, to control pain, to support, Jim, marijuana supporters believe that their effort is getting some momentum.

SCIUTTO: All right, thank you. You are literally --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we were kids you used it just as a joke, 420, time to smoke. But now, it's sort of like a symbol of freedom. I think it's a serious thing. I don't think it's a joke. I think people think we're playing some big joke on America out here. And that's not what it is.

This is progress. This is progress right here. My son's sitting here. That's progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, that woman we talked to is a marijuana business owner. She's here with her 5-year-old son in an effort to show how marijuana's becoming more mainstream. It also brings up the fact, Jim, that marijuana is becoming big business here in Colorado and also in other states where some form of marijuana is now legal.

Back to you.

SCIUTTO: Yes, a lot of states talking about the tax revenue there. Thanks very much to Ana Cabrera, literally right in the middle of it for us there.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter has died. The former boxer was 76. And now, a lot of people saw the hurricane fight opponents inside the ring but even more, learn about his story of being wrongly convicted of a triple murder in the 1999 movie "The Hurricane", which starred Denzel Washington.

Nick Valencia joins us now with more about the boxer's life -- a fascinating life, a story of turning a life around.

Nick, what did you find?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good evening, Jim.

In a recent interview with CNN, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter said that his greatest life accomplishment was not letting the bitterness or frustration that overcame him after he was wrongfully convicted of that triple murder. It was roes resisting those temptations. He spent 19 years behind bars until 1985 when a judge overturned his conviction.

And Carter spent the rest of his life fighting for people like him. He became the first executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongfully Convicted. That was a title that he held until 2004. Many of you watching at home may remember Rubin Carter from that 1999 film starring Denzel Washington called "The Hurricane".

And 20 years before that, Carter's memory was immortalized in a song by Bob Dylan. It was a legacy he left behind for those fighting for justice, as I mentioned, for those like him.

And I want to read a statement, Jim, that we got into CNN a moment ago from Denzel Washington, the star of that movie. It read in part, "God bless Rubin Carter and his tireless fight to ensure justice for all."

Now, Carter did sit down with CNN a couple years ago. He did admit he was no saint. He did plenty of wrong in his life including assaults and robberies. His critics may remember him for that, but his supporters, Jim, that will always remember him as a boxer who never quite got to that championship title that he -- a lot of people felt that he deserved. But without that belt, he was still a champion to so many people.

He was 76 years old and died in Toronto, Canada -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: And went on to champion others wrongly convicted like himself.

Thanks very much, Nick Valencia, in Atlanta for us today.

Turning now to the search for Malaysia Flight 370. If searchers do find the black box, they'll be looking for any clues from the recordings including this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SCIUTTO: How much, you ask, could that tone tell investigators about what happened? Right after this, we'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York.

The hunt for Malaysia Flight 370 is pushing forward on several fronts. Right now, crews are getting ready to return to the search area to hunt for any sign of the missing jet on this, the 45th day since the 777 airliner disappeared.

Also, we're waiting for the Bluefin 21 to surface from its latest mission. The underwater drone has scoured at least half of that current search zone.

We want to go first to correspondent Michael Holmes. He's at the search base in Perth, Australia.

Mike, tell us what's the latest with the search. There was some urgency injected into all this yesterday when officials started talking about this next five, six days as being crucial.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim, good to see you.

Another week under way in the hunt for Malaysia Flight 370. The search as you said that the acting transport minister in Malaysia said yesterday has reached, in his words, a critical juncture. Both he and the Australian prime minister have said the search of this more narrowly defined area of the sea bed should be completed by the end of the week.

We're talking about a six-mile radius around where that second acoustic sound was picked up that they hope was from the black box. You're talking about a 120-odd square miles in all and they've covered nearly half of it. Search leaders still feel it's their best shot where they are right now to find the plane and those on board.

Now the eighth mission of Bluefin-21 should be ending soon, Jim, if all has gone well. And we're waiting to see if it's even -- it's been more successful than the previous seven dives. As you mentioned the planes and ships still searching for surface debris but nothing found after 44 days. Hope surely fading there.

And I can tell you, too, a cyclone or, in North American parlance, a hurricane, not all that far from this search area. And that's going to make the waves much, much higher in the days ahead. The Malaysian acting transport minister today asked for prayers this week. They might be needed -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And that Bluefin-21 about halfway through that long walk on the ocean floor as it's been described to us. Moving at walking pace.

Thanks very much to Michael Holmes, definitely be coming back to him in Perth.

Now I want you to listen to this sound and tell us what you think about it.

Now, for most of us, we hear just a fuzzy, annoying sound, not really clear what it is. But when audio experts take that sound, they can figure out what happened a plane's cockpit. The sounds are actually from alerts from cockpit recorders and alerts can indicate scenarios like an engine fire or sudden drop in altitude, some of the theories is to what happened to the missing Malaysian jet.

I want to bring in now audio expert Paul Ginsberg along with the rest of my panel. We got Michael Kay here as well Mary Schiavo on the line. But, Paul, as you listened to that sound, we had the first kind of - fuzzy kind. And I want to play for our viewers now an enhanced version of that same cockpit alert. Have a listen to this one.

So a couple of things this indicates. One it indicates you really need an expert to listen to this audio, right, because the raw stuff is just hard to discern. But once an expert like you listens to something like that, what kind of alert are we hearing there?

PAUL GINSBERG, FORENSIC AUDIO EXPERT: Well, we were listening to a cockpit area microphone, a CAM, which is very, very noisy environment as you would expect, from the air, the air conditioning, the air flow, engine sounds and so on. Most pilots nowadays use noise canceling head phones just to cut that out.

SCIUTTO: Right. But the microphone on the recorder would not have that same technology. So it's just grabbing everything.

GINSBERG: That's correct. And there are many times in the cockpit where you want to know what happened engine wise and alerts and so on, in addition to people talking. OK? So this was -- this was an example of an alert that sounded in a cockpit, but it was very low and we wanted to enhance it. And so --

SCIUTTO: So let's -- for the sake of our viewers why don't we play this again right up next to each other? We'll play first the raw sound and then the enhanced sound. Let's start with the raw sound here.

It's interesting because now that I listened again, behind the raw sound you can hear a kind of high pitched clinking noise almost.

GINSBERG: That's right.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GINSBERG: Well, when you become familiar with what you're listening for and the time then you begin to dig it out of the noise.

SCIUTTO: Right.

GINSBERG: This the type of thing that we deal with in aircraft situations as well as undercover recordings and gunshots and so on.

SCIUTTO: I want to give you a chance to comment, Mike. I also want to bring in Mary Schiavo.

Just -- because explain to our viewers, you know, there's so much focus now is on, you know, finding those recorders, but that's the beginning of a process, right? Because then you have to listen. And you've been involved in many investigations before. You have to be in listening to that data to glean something from it.

How much of a challenge is that in your experience?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, in my experience, it's not just -- it's not just listening, the flight data recorders now are so very, very good and they have so many parameters that the cockpit voice recorder, things that are not picked up or are not recorded on the flight data recorder now that the pilot/plane interface.

What were the pilot saying to each other? Did you hear the sound of a cockpit door open? Was there any sound of, for example, a seat failing or things that would happen that wouldn't be picked up on the flight data recorder? Because the flight data recorder is so good, it will get everything about the engines, the pressure, the control surfaces, the gauges.

And by the way, if you have an accident, if you've got a warning light on, then we look for stretched filament in the light bulb so there are lots and lots of clues. But that cockpit voice recorder can only get the things that are heard and not recorded elsewhere. So it's very valuable.

SCIUTTO: You're an audio expert. So underwater can these tapes be damaged over time?

GINSBERG: No, they actually are built, that is the cockpit voice recorder and cockpit data recorder as well, to reside in salt water from long time. In fact, when they're retrieved, they're put into salt water as they're being transported.

SCIUTTO: You always see that. Right, when they put it out.

GINSBERG: That's right.

SCIUTTO: So it's kind of in its natural habitat, in a way.

GINSBERG: Yes. The memory stays intact usually.

SCIUTTO: You had a comment before, Michael, just talking about your reaction as they're trying to glean information from these recordings.

LT. COL. MICHAEL KAY, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes, I mean, again, going back to what we talked about yesterday, Jim. The where, the what and the why. I think the key there is going to be actually some form of debris that allows us to connect the location with the fact that it was MH-370's resting place. We then know from Air France 447 that we picked up debris pretty quickly but it was two years until the robots on the bottom actually managed to find the FDR and the CVR. Also we found the FDR and CVR were then going into the process of this investigation --

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder. Just to remind the viewers.

KAY: Cockpit voice recorder. Absolutely, yes. And it's like putting this jigsaw together. And there's -- Paul was talking to earlier, there's some really key phases of flight where you can really hone in on what the noises are. For example, reverse thrusters. Reverse thrusters when you land on the runway, you get the reverse thrusters kick in and they have deceleration, or Paul and his experts can tune in for that phase of flight.

When you get airborne, we're all -- we all hear the undercarriage travel, the wheels travel in the flap shaft.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KAY: When you get that specific noise. Now no one raises any eyebrows of that because you're used to it. As you're getting airborne you hear those noises. You hear the engines. So there's various phases of flight that these guys can tune into and really start putting the jigsaw puzzle together.

SCIUTTO: Just from that sound. Yes.

KAY: From the normal perspective. And then anything outside of that, that sounds a little bit unusual, that's what these guys will hone in on.

SCIUTTO: Mike Williamson, I'd like to bring you in, just being an underwater expert. Just in terms of analyzing where we are. They've refined the search area to a much smaller area, several hundred square miles, much smaller than it was before, but still large. But it's been eight days now. They haven't heard anything yet. We're waiting for the update from today.

How worrisome is that to you?

WILLIAMSON: Well, I don't think we can make any conclusions until the Bluefin has completed its search of that primary area. And using one AUV, it just takes a little bit longer. If they had two systems, then they could be operating in tandem while one is coming up and downloading and recharging, the other could be operating. So the operation just takes a little time and they are making good progress.

SCIUTTO: Yes. This is certainly a search that's required patience from the beginning. Thanks very much to the panel. I know we're going to have another opportunity. Thanks to all of you for joining us.

Coming up in this hour, investigators in South Korea release frantic radio traffic between the crew of the sinking ferry and officials back on shore. We're going to play that for you.

Plus the latest on that investigation right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Rescue crews off the coast of South Korea have found no survivors, only bodies since a loaded ferry tipped over and sank five days ago. This is where those ship went down, in water just about 100 feet deep. Divers finally managed to get inside the vessel and brought the bodies of more than a dozen people to the surface today raising the confirmed death toll to 59.

Grieving family members are gathered on the shore nearby. There's nothing they can do but wait for news. The fate of 243 other people still on board still missing is not known today, but realistic hope is fading.

And then there's the captain. This man here, he was in charge of the ferry and all those lives on board. He is under arrest, charged with abandoning his ship, among other things. Today we heard recordings of ship controllers talking to him to get those passengers off the ship. Survivors say they were instead told to stay put while the ferry tipped over.

We're joined now by Jim Staples. He's a veteran merchant marine, an expert on pilot giant ships around the world. In fact, he's piloted ships in this very area.

Captain Stiles (sic), just as you look at the circumstances here, and now that we've heard those early communications where when the ship's captain first got in touch, made that distress call to shore, they told him to make an abandon ship order and then it was more than two hours later that the ship completely sank. What degree of failure is this for the captain of a ship with passengers on board?

CAPT. JIM STAPLES, CARGO SHIP CAPTAIN: A hundred percent failure. He should have evacuated that vessel immediately. As soon as he knew that that ship was in trouble, he should have ordered people to their muster stations and deployed the life rafts. And by that, we would have seen a lot more people that probably would have survived the incident.

His concern was that the water was cold and there was a great current there. And that's true. And that's a concern he should have been thinking about, but the main concern was to get the people off that vessel because she was foundering very quickly. He was in serious trouble and he needed to evacuate that ship and he just didn't do it.

SCIUTTO: Now is there -- is there an international law that governs what captains of ships are required to do? Of course you have the old saw, the captain, you know, should go down with the ship, but that's not actually law. But in terms of the captain's responsibility for getting the passengers off ship before he himself abandons ship, what is the seaman's law? What were you taught as a captain? What does international law hold for captains like this?

STAPLES: Well, first of all, it's a law of humanity. It's your responsibility as the master to make sure that all your crew and all your passengers are safe. That's your responsibility. That's what you're being paid to do. That's what you supposedly have been trained to do, and you should be able to respond to an emergency situation at any time no matter whether it's a fire or a collision or a grounding, you should be able to respond to that emergency and keep your crew and your passengers safe. We see again --

SCIUTTO: Oh, sorry, we're just losing the signal there for Captain Jim Styles. He was just completing a thought about it being the captain's responsibility if not to go down with the ship but responsible for getting his passengers off the ship in the event an emergency like this. And that, of course, is something that he failed to do in this case and he's now under charge in South Korea. Moving to another story here at home, it has been a little more than a year since the Boston marathon bombing. This year's race is tomorrow. With bigger crowds than ever before and also more security. We're going to take you live to Boston with Brooke Baldwin right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: It is a big day tomorrow in Boston. Tomorrow is the Boston marathon. And it is marking one year since bombs at the race killed three people and wounded 264 others. Among the youngest victims was 8-year-old Martin Richard. That's his pictures there.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin talked to two boys who were just inches from him when those bombs went off and lived to tell the tale.

Brooke, I know you've been there since the beginning and you've been in touch with survivors since the beginning. This must be one of the most powerful survivor stories that you've come across, though.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty incredible. I mean, when you think, Jim, of all the pictures that we saw after -- those really before and after those two explosions a year ago at the finish line on Boylston Street. The pictures in which FBI went through frame by frame to try to figure out who could possibly be capable of doing something so horrendous.

There is one photo that many people will recognize here. And we actually have the story behind the photo because you will see, as we just showed, that the youngest victim 8-year-old Martin Richard and his sister Jane who survived the blast minus a leg and it was these two young men who were just next to them, they're their family friends. And they talk about what it was like to just be so close. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): These two smiling children, Martin and Jane Richard, the face of that cruel day in Boston. A few feet away, the alleged bombers are about to strike.

AARON HERN, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: Looking over at the kids. They're screaming and yelling for their parents to keep running. They were cheering them on.

BALDWIN: Martin, just 8 years old, was killed. His sister Janie, then 7, lost her leg. The moments before a bomb tore into their lives captured in this haunting photo, but what happened to those other boys standing inches away?

HERN: To see where they were next to me and to find out it's devastating.

BALDWIN: Aaron Hern is the boy to Jane's right, next to him is David Yepez. They were hit by a concussive blast. ALAN HERN, AARON'S FATHER: It felt like it was right on top of us. And then I'd -- he was in this cloud. I was just standing right over there.

BALDWIN: In the scramble Aaron and David were pulled apart. Feet from Martin Richard.

HERN: I think it was Martin, and it was over about five feet that way and there's this lady trying to get him to stay up, and once in a while when I have visions, that's the thing in my visions that I see a woman trying to get the kid up.

DAVID YEPEZ, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: I did not see what happened to him. I guess -- and I don't want to say I forgot. But I guess - there wasn't really any thoughts in my head at that moment.

BALDWIN: Even with his injuries, Aaron remembers seeing Martin.

HERN: I saw a boy over there in that concrete. And I was -- I looked at my legs and from my knees down it was just solid red of blood.

BALDWIN: At the hospital they felt relief that they had survived. A room away the Richard family grieved.

HERN: I always wanted to trade places with them because I didn't think it was fair, but I do remember how lucky I am.

DR. MARK VECCHIOTTI, TUFFS MEDICAL CENTER: This was taken one week after your injury.

BALDWIN: David Yepez's ears are slowly healing. Though ear specialists had worried his hearing loss might become the worst of his injuries.

VECCHIOTTI: So there it is. A completely healed eardrum.

BALDWIN: Aaron's leg injuries are also on the mend.

HERN: I have my scars still. They're probably going to be there forever. But I don't have any problems. Once in a while I have some pains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bless those that lost their lives.

BALDWIN: At the memorial the boys found inspiration in seeing Janie Richard.

HERN: It was very inspiring to see her. I've always had them in my head.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Tough to imagine, just 13 years of age. I can tell you that Aaron's parents will be running the marathon, Jim, first thing in the morning. Aaron, though, will not be along the finish line. He will be in a more protected area with a number of the other survivors. He will be watching the race from afar.

Let me just add one other note. I talked to a bunch of people who will be running. And they said, Brooke, when everyone is watching us go through the finish line, we're all going to be wearing sunglasses. And it's not going to be because of the sun. It will be an incredibly emotional day for a lot of people, just tears streaming down their faces -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, Brooke, that story is riveting to watch. I'm thinking of my own boys as I watch it. And I have to wonder, I mean, we talk a little bit about the security there. I mean, how are officials keeping everyone safe this year while also keeping that kind of Boston Strong upbeat mood going?

BALDWIN: Right. Well, expect a lot of plainclothes officers, for one. We know that there will be doubled police presence from years past. They -- some officers who said to me that they're not messing around this year at all. There is a zero bag policy along the race route. No backpacks, no rucksacks and that also spills into the crowd. This is -- it may not be the biggest race. It's the second biggest race in Boston's history, but it's the biggest as far as spectators. A million people.

They'll be tough on people. If you want to head out to the -- to the race route, no bags. They're asking you to leave your handbags at home. No liquids bigger -- more than one liter. Don't wear bulky clothes. It will be chilly here in the morning. No bulky clothes, no bags, nothing covering your faces because police will be out. No taking any chances this year -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Understood. And rightly so.

Thanks so much for Brooke Baldwin. She's going to be there tomorrow. I'm going to be watching.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Don't miss CNN's coverage of the race tomorrow. She's been there since the beginning of this story and the start of that race is bright and early tomorrow morning. So happy Easter to you, Brooke, and we look forward to seeing you.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Same to you.

SCIUTTO: Also on this Easter Sunday from the Pope to the royal couple and Prince George. We're going to show you how people are celebrating Easter around the world.

But first, from the Pope to the royal couple, we're going to show you these pictures from all over and that's the baby there, the royal baby, the heir to the throne. Right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: As Christians around the world celebrate their most holy feast of Easter today the tone was at times somber, praying for peace to come to some of the world's worst conflicts.

At the Vatican in Rome, thousands packed into St. Peter's Square. Pope Francis prayed for an end to conflicts in Iraq, Israel, Nigeria, Venezuela and Ukraine in his Easter message.

Queen Elizabeth celebrated Easter mass at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. And on the other side of the planet the duke and duchess of Cambridge continue their tour of Australia. Little Prince George made an appearance with his parents at the Sydney Zoo on Sunday meeting a little marsupial called bilby that was named after him.

George was excited to get a toy version of the bilby but as you could see his excitement didn't last too long. Looks like my little boys there.