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Captain of Ship that Carried Ammonium Nitrate Speaks Out; Top Port and Customs Officials Have Bank Accounts Frozen; Community Bands Together to Rebuild After Blast; Concerns About Corruption Amid International Aid Offers; U.S. Lifts Its Global Level 4 Travel Advisory; Germany Mandates Tests for Travelers from High Risk Areas; Beirut Survivors Recall Blast's Terrifying Moment. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 07, 2020 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

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BORIS PROKOSHEV, FORMER CAPTAIN OF MV RHOSUS: (through translator): As far as I know the cargo was unloaded in 2014 or 2015. No one ever claimed it. It was possible to register it as dangerous and it was, indeed, dangerous. And then move it to some fields, fertilize the soil, and plough it and solve the problem. I have no idea why that was not done.

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Although the investigation is just beginning, it's clear that the management of the Beirut port is becoming a central focus. Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson with the latest from London. You heard at least the captain again sort of reiterating, you know, what we know. But in his own words, I mean, this should have been dealt with. We've had, you know, a dozen arrests, a few resignations so far. What is the latest on the investigation?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, indeed the ship's owners had written to the ministry of transport and the port authority in Beirut in the summer of 2014, almost a year after that cargo had been impounded there. Telling those officials that they thought it was dangerous. Somebody at the transport ministry writes back to the ship's owners and saying we've informed the justice ministry and we've informed the naval authorities.

But what's striking about this particular situation now and the arrest is that, you know, you have the transport ministry here saying that they contacted the justice ministry. Well, two of those port officials, the customs chief and the former customs chief had been writing to the justice ministry themselves warning of the situation of the danger of these chemicals being stored in this warehouse.

Yet these two officials have now been arrested, which does show you that suspicion of some description is falling on the people who managed the warehouse. Who controlled and have influence over the warehouse in the port. And the bank accounts being frozen of those two customs and one former custom official officials, one other senior customs official. Indicates that perhaps the government thought there was something nefarious going on with their accounts. Was there some corruption? Was there some, you know, underhand efforts to sell or continue to hold that material there that they were benefitting from financially?

So that seems to be at least the early stage of the investigation. Also the investigation I understand from an intelligence official inside Beirut is that they continue to search for clues to support what they believe may be the case, that this big explosion and the fire just before it, was triggered by a bomb of some description. So that also a line of investigation relative to the actual explosion rather than the people around responsible.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right, well we appreciate your reporting on this story. Thank you so much, Nic Robertson in London.

Well the aftermath of the explosion is being felt across the city. Streets filled with shattered glass and debris. The blast impacted nearly every home and business and yet CNN's Ben Wedeman shows us how many in the community are wasting no time jumping into action determined to rebuild.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Beirut residents, life is now divided between what came before and what came after. The staff member of the Barbell House gym captured these images on his phone. He was unharmed.

[03:05:05]

Shiva Karout is a trainer in the gym.

SHIVA KAROUT, TRAINER, BARBELL HOUSE GYM: As soon as I saw that nothing happened to me, I ran out, run to the gym, tried to helping people out. A lot of people were wounded, a lot of people were on the floor, disoriented. We just picked them up, and put them outside, took them to the hospital.

WEDEMAN: Less than two days later, with blood still on the weights, gym members are doing the heavy lifting to restore a semblance of routine.

In the Maroun Maronite Church, the priest conducts a live streamed mass, cut short by the tremor and then the crash of shattering glass. Father Marwan Mouawad was sitting in the pews, and immediately assumed it was a political assassination in the streets outside.

God save us, God save us, he recalls. We wanted to get out of here with the least possible damage.

Glass shards tore into the pews, mostly empty Tuesday evening because of coronavirus restrictions. Two stained glass panels were spared, one depicting Jesus, the other Mar Charbel, a Lebanese saint renowned for miracles. Not a miracle, but perhaps a glimmer of hope that Lebanon's spirit is far from broken is on vivid display in the crowded streets of Mar Mikhael, the neighborhood next to the port.

[04:35:00]

Social distancing has been sacrificed in the effort to cling to a spirit of community in a land where the very system of government is based upon divisions between the countries 18 officially recognized religious sects.

Their work done for the day, an ad hoc volunteer crew heads home, singing a popular song with the refrain "Lebanon will come back."

The city is bruised, bleeding, and battered, but unbowed.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

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BRUNHUBER: And global outpouring of assistance is being organized for Beirut, but there are concerns about where that money will go. So for more on that, let's go live to London and CNN's Isa Soares. So Isa, how desperate is the need and how great are the obstacles to delivering it?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the need is immense and so are the obstacles that I'm sure many analysts have told you in the last few days that this perhaps could be a catalyst for change, the beginning of a new political era. And you start as French President Macron said in the last 24 hours. As Lebanon begins to clear the rubble, really the need for help, for international support is immensely clear. The European Commission has pledged almost $40 million. Gulf countries are following suit bringing in lots of financial aid, but also search and rescue teams.

But what President Emmanuel Macron has said and outlined very clearly, not just for those in Lebanon but also the international community, is that any money, any international aid, Kim, that is indeed put together as a fund for Lebanon will not be given to those at the very top. Those politicians who have been blamed for much of the endemic corruption and mismanagement of Lebanon. So there won't be no blank check. Just listen.

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SOARES (voice-over): Amidst the rubble, an expression of sympathy, and the promise of support.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): In the coming days, we will organize more support in France and on a European level. I would like to organize European cooperation, and more widely, international cooperation.

SOARES: The French President is the first world leader to visit the blast site. His offer of help, though, came with a warning. MACRON (through translator): For months, and years now, France has been demanding indispensable reforms in certain sectors. Energy, government, procurement, and the fight against corruption. If these reforms are not carried out, Lebanon will continue to sink.

SOARES: With each passing hour, the scale of the devastation becomes clearer. So, too, does the immense need for a global response to the crisis. The European Union has already pledged almost $40 million. Italy has already dispatched planeloads of medical aid and rescue workers. Turkey, too, has sent humanitarian aid, along with teams to scour the rubble for survivors.

From the United Kingdom, a message of condolence from the royal family, along with a government pledge of nearly $7 million and humanitarian assistance.

DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We are going to stand by the Lebanese people in their time of need.

SOARES: Many other countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, have made contributions. The U.S. says it will send aid, too.

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are ready to assist the government of Lebanon as it grapples with this horrible tragedy.

SOARES: But even before the blast, Lebanon's economy was in freefall. With anti-government protests skyrocketing, unemployment and a plummeting currency.

Then came the coronavirus pandemic. And now this. For a country that had slowly pulled itself out of the ruin of a civil war, the events of this week are a catastrophic setback. And once again, Lebanon finds itself dependent on foreign aid to try to rebuild.

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SOARES: And given that economic backdrop as well as the political backdrop, Kim, what is clear is that Lebanon cannot do this alone, that it does need international help and international aid. So Emmanuel Macron said that he was going to set up an international aid conference for Lebanon, and as he said that he also promised those who may be considering to donate from those Western donors, perhaps that there will be transparent governors. And I think that's very important for anyone willing to help out given the endemic corruption and mismanagement behind Lebanon for many, many years -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we appreciate it. Thank you so much. Isa Soares in London.

[04:40:00]

Well the U.S. State Department has lifted its global do not travel advisory. But don't pack your bags just yet. We'll explain what it all means coming up just ahead.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, the U.S. State Department has lifted its global do not travel advisory. It had been in places March. Now this comes as many countries around the world reduce their number of coronavirus infections but it also comes as Americans face travel restrictions from other countries as cases soar in the U.S. CNN's Kylie Atwood reports.

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KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department has lifted its global do not travel advisory that took place in March as the coronavirus pandemic was sweeping the globe. And so, Americans are now going to have to look country by country for these travel advisories. Because the State Department says there are certain countries where the situation is improving, there are certain countries where the situation is deteriorating.

So they want to give American travelers actionable advice when they have plans to travel. Now we should note, however, that this doesn't mean that Americans are going to be able to travel anywhere they like. Of course, the EU is still keeping out Americans. The U.S. remains the worldwide epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with 160,000 deaths in the U.S. alone. That is why other countries want to keep Americans out. And even on the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, there is still no non-essential travel that is allowed at this time.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

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BRUNHUBER: Many in Europe have been watching the U.S. numbers closely as they seek to contain the virus in their own borders. Starting this weekend, Germany will require people arriving from countries deemed high risk to take COVID-19 tests when they enter the country. Fred Pleitgen has the details.

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[04:45:00]

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the new normal for anyone arriving at German airports. Get your suitcase and then get a coronavirus test.

Toby Rosen just got back home to Berlin.

TOBY ROSEN, TRAVELER: The line seemed pretty short, probably like 30 minutes or so. And I think we get results in the next 24 hours.

PLEITGEN: Germany is offering all travelers arriving here free coronavirus tests. And starting Saturday, people coming from high-risk areas will be required to get tested on arrival.

(on camera): The German government says it doesn't want the situation here to deteriorate for instance the way it has in the United States with tens of thousands of new cases every day. That's why they are taking the drastic step of offering everyone who enters the country a coronavirus test.

(voice-over): Germany has the capacity for about 1.2 million tests per week, official data shows. And Berlin says the pandemic remains under control here. There has only been one day with more than a thousand new infections in the past three months.

Even as President Trump continues to falsely claim the U.S. is doing better than countries like Germany.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if you look at deaths --

JONATHAN SWAN, AXIOS: Yes, it started to go up again.

TRUMP: Well, right here, the United States is the lowest in numerous categories. We are lower than the world.

SWAN: Lower than the world?

TRUMP: Lower than Europe.

SWAN: In what? In what?

TRUMP: Take a look. Right here. Here is case data.

SWAN: Oh, you are doing death as a proportion of cases. I am talking about death as a proportion of population. That's where the U.S. is really bad, much worse than South Korea, Germany, et cetera.

PLEITGEN: Johns Hopkins data shows that both South Korea and Germany indeed have a much lower number of coronavirus deaths per 100,000 residents. Today, Germany's health minister said that drastic increase in testing is part of a broad strategy to prevent new lockdowns and to save lives.

In my view it arises from an obligation for us as a society to look after and protect each other, he says.

And there are other strict measures in place. Travelers from high-risk countries who are not residents of Europe are banned from coming here altogether. The U.S. is considered a high-risk country, with the Trump administration still failing to contain the outbreak.

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BRUNHUBER: And Fred Pleitgen joins me now live from Berlin. Interesting there, the U.S. being used as a cautionary tale by Germany. So those tests you showed there, they're quick, they're free, but how effective have they been?

PLEITGEN: Yes, it's one of the big questions, Kim, that the German governor has had to answer quite frankly, to the population here. Because people are asking, look, this is very, very difficult to do. This is a huge undertaking. And then obviously, it also costs a lot of money to provide that amount of free coronavirus tests. But the government has said so far, they really only had about a week's worth of a sample size. But they said so far, they certainly believe that it is worth it.

Because they say of the folks that they've tested, for those voluntary coronavirus tests so far coming into the country at airports, about 2 percent have tested positive for COVID-19. At some airport apparently, it's even 3 percent that have tested positive. So they certainly were able to filter some people out. And of course, what the German government is saying is that every person that they get at the border that they're able to filter out, bring into quarantine who has coronavirus is someone who's not going to infect other people here in this country.

So from the German government's perspective they believe that it is an important tool. Certainly, right now as they really try to combat this new spike in infections of the coronavirus with over 1,100 cases being recorded here in this country in the past day -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Just shows the difference in testing between Germany and here in the U.S. Thank you so much, Fred Pleitgen live in Berlin. Appreciate it.

Coming up, voices from the streets of the Lebanese capital.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a catastrophe. I've never seen something like that.

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BRUNHUBER: Hear from some of the people who lived through Tuesday's devastating explosion. Please do stay with us.

[04:50:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Well, there are some things that just won't wait, even when everything is falling apart. And babies are one such event as you can see in this video here. A woman was giving birth in a Beirut hospital when the explosion ripped through the building. As of labor isn't difficult enough. Well, the baby is a boy named George and both he and his mom are fine. And Dad's first baby video, you are seeing it now, quite something. Good to see some good news out of this devastation.

Now here's another view of the moment of the explosion. A nanny and some children who are watching the fire at the port from a window when the blast went off and the shock wave hit their building. Now they were on the 17th floor. So you see the nanny shielding two of the children while another stumbles in confusion after the impact. Obviously, just a terrifying experience for all of them.

Well, it's said that people who've experienced traumatic events often remember them in slow motion and for so many of those in Beirut, the memory of where they were, who they were with and what they were doing when Tuesday's explosion occurred has left an indelible emotional scar. A moment in their lives like no other.

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VORAINE AWWAS, BEIRUT RESIDENT (translated text): I've never been scared like I was today.

ELI ZAKARI, BEIRUT RESIDENT (translated text): It was a massacre. I saw people screaming. I saw people covered in blood, homes destroyed, broken glass, the streets ... You could have told me it was a tsunami, Hiroshima, I had no idea.

[04:55:00]

I couldn't comprehend what was happening.

TEXT: The massive blast took place near Beirut's port, close to many highly populated areas.

AHAMAD ISMAIL, SHOP OWNER (translated text): I fell something like lightning strike across the sky of Beirut and then everything turned red and the force (of the explosion) through me.

TEREZ, BEIRUT RESIDENT (translated text): I work here, I was heading to work I went to sit down and the entire office fell on my head.

TEXT, SOURCE, RED CROSS VIA LEBANESE STATE MEDIA: Scores of people were killed and thousands were wounded.

KARL DAGHER, PROCUREMENT ENGINEER (translated text): I went to another hospital and was told that they at full capacity. I saw a man whose leg had been cut off and I saw men carrying a boy who was unconscious and covered with blood.

PHILIPPE ARACTINGI, LEBANESE FILM DIRECTOR: I've seen war, I've filmed war. In 2006 I went to the South Lebanon to see this. But it took 30 days to do the same destruction. We had in one explosion. It is a catastrophe. I've never seen something like that.

TEXT: it's still unclear what exactly caused the explosion. Authorities said an investigation would focus on explosive ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse.

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BRUNHUBER: If you're seeing those videos and hearing those stories and you'd like to help the victims of Tuesday's blast in Beirut, you can log on to our Impact Your World website. It's CNN.com/impact. Now some groups are still assessing the needs, but you can count on CNN to keep you updated. And again, the address is CNN.com/impact.

Well, thank you very much for spending your time with us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Stay with us.

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