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Connect the World
Father of Former Hostage Emily Hand Speaks to CNN; Emergency Crews Prepare for Trapped Workers to Emerge; Ukrainian Commander Captures Video from the Trenches; Trapped Workers Emerging from Tunnel in Northern India; CNN Marks Third Year of Environmental Initiative. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired November 28, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome to "Connect the World" with me Julia Chatterley. It's 9 am here in New York, its 4 pm in
Gaza. And the lists have been exchanged and now families of 10 hostages captured by Hamas and 30 Palestinians held by Israel are awaiting release
in the first day of a two day truce extension in Gaza.
A similar exchange is set to happen on Wednesday. The question is what happens beyond then? And that's not yet clear. Qatar's Foreign Ministry has
been mediating the ceasefire along with Egypt. It says extending the truce beyond tomorrow is contingent on Israel's condition that Hamas released 10
additional hostages each day.
Now 11 hostages and 33 prisoners were exchanged on Monday. And for every hostage freed, Israel is releasing three Palestinians held in custody.
Clare Sebastian is monitoring developments for us from London. Clare once again, we expect this to play out in a similar manner today and tomorrow
that we've seen over the last four days.
But I think the first thing that we should discuss is what the Israeli Defense Forces have now confirmed is the death of one of those hostages in
captivity Ravid Katz, a father of three, I believe, what more do we know?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Julia. In this situation of heightened tension and stress that Israel and in fact you know Palestinians
waiting for releases as well. It's been under for now the four days coming up to this. We get this news from the IDF confirming the death of Ravid
Katz. He was believed to be among the hostages captured on October 7th.
They say that his body is being held by Hamas in Gaza, but it is not clear if he was -- if he actually died in Gaza or if he was killed on October 7th
and taken to Gaza. Now this is the third hostage who we know of who has been killed. Since October 7th there was the IDF soldier Noa Marciano and
another hostage Yehudit Weiss both found in the vicinity of Shifa -- of Al- Shifa Hospital in Gaza. So this is the third one.
And obviously, this underscores just how delicate the situation is, as we wait for the next round of hostage releases. As you say 10 expected on the
Israeli side, they -- we understand, according to a government spokesperson have the list. So we're waiting to see how that unfolds and then the one to
three ratio expected to continue on the Palestinian side.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. And Clare have we heard any more about what may happen? And obviously we're pushing ahead a long way. And a lot has to come just
over the coming hours to get those hostages released, as you point out and of course, the prisoners that the Israelis are holding and the detainees as
well. But what might happen after Wednesday?
SEBASTIAN: So we could see further extensions. This is certainly the Israelis have made it clear that this is open ended. The ball is in Hamas's
court. And if they continue to release hostages at a rate of 10 per day, then Israel will continue to extend the truce by 24 hours for each of those
10.
I think there are potential limitations on that right now. The deal that is in place involves just women and children and of the 173 hostages that
Israel estimates are still in Gaza. Just 45 are women and six are children. Add to that the complication that certainly according to a diplomatic
source, briefed on the talks telling CNN that they believe at least 40 of those hostages are not currently in the physical custody of Hamas.
They may be being held by other militant groups in the Gaza Strip. So that would complicate Hamas's efforts to get them out. But the diplomatic
efforts are stepping up. You know, source telling CNN that the CIA Director who has been influential in this so far, Bill Burns is back in Doha right
now trying to instigate a broader deal which could go beyond women and children, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah, we're going to discuss more of the complications here. But we'll wait now over the next hour or so in the hopes of hearing about
those releases. Clare Sebastian for now, thank you. Now the father of one of the hostages freed over the weekend is describing the emotional reunion
with his daughter.
Nine-year-old Emily Hand was released Saturday after 50 days in captivity. Thomas Hand initially thought that Emily had been killed in the October 7th
attack. Then he learned that she was being held by Hamas. He's spoken with CNN throughout this whole deal. And now he tells our Clarissa Ward, about
the moment he'd been hoping and praying for, for more than seven weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS HAND, FATHER OF FORMER HOSTAGE EMILY HAND: They should be here in a couple of minutes like oh, I can't believe it. And all of a sudden the door
opened up and she just ran.
[09:05:00]
It was beautiful just like -- just like I imagined it. You know running together. I squeezed. I probably squeezed to God. And suddenly when she
stepped back a little, I could see her face was chiseled like mine before she left with chubby, curly, young kid.
Yeah, she's lost a lot of body weight and the color I've never seen her so white. The other and the most shocking disturbing part of meeting was -- at
my ear on her lips like this close and say what did you say? I thought you were kidnapped.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She said I thought you were kidnapped.
HAND: She thought I was in captivity. They thought they'd kidnapped me and she didn't know what the hell happened apart from that morning. So she's
presumed everyone's kidnapped or killed or slaughtered or she had no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Palestinians are also reuniting with their families as part of the Israel Hamas deal. On Monday the Israeli Prison Service says 33 jailed
Palestinians were released. But as Nima Elbagir reports the euphoria was short lived with many recounting the injustice as they say they faced while
in Israeli custody.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The moment a mother finally sees her daughter for the first time after eight years in Israeli prison the relief, the anguish, the utter joy.
Malak Salman was part of the first wave of hostage prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
MALAK SALMAN, RELEASED PRISONER: It was painful because I was leaving the sisters I made inside prison. And I feel like my freedom was paid for with
the blood of the 14,000 Gazans killed.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Malak then 16 was charged with an attempted stabbing of Israelis. Israeli authorities say no one was injured, and yet she was
convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years. When her family appealed it came down to nine. Malak served almost eight of those years
spending the remainder of her teenage years behind bars.
Her family maintains her innocence. Fatina Malik's mother had dreamed of this day for years to embrace her daughter to share that joy with her
community. She says this was denied.
FATINA SALMAN, MOTHER OF RELEASED PRISONER: The Israeli authorities were with us from 2 pm. They surrounded the house and ripped down the
decorations of any display of celebration. They stole the joy of my daughter's release.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): To be released doesn't mean you are fully free. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who is himself found
guilty in 2007 before he was a Minister of Incitement to Racism against Arabs and supporting a terror organization. Ben Gvir instructed Israeli
forces to use an iron fist, preventing Palestinians from celebrating the release of their loved ones, saying the prisoners were terrorists.
ITAMAR BEN GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER: Expressions of joy and support for terrorism, celebrations of victory, give strength to those same
human scums, those Nazis. Policy here is very, very, very clear not to allow these expressions of joy and resolutely strive to make contact and
stop any support for these Nazis.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Another night, another scene of Israeli forces removing well-wishers and journalists at the home of a released Palestinian
prisoner, taking a heavy handed approach, as ordered by their National Security Minister. In Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, they were able
to defy Ben Gvir, celebrating the release of Fatima Shahin and others from the city.
Fatima left her home walking and returned almost seven months later with life changing injuries, shot by Israeli soldiers and accused of attempted
murder.
FATIMA SHAHIN, RELEASED PRISONER: They accused me of carrying out a stabbing. It's not true. They opened fire on me. I was hit in the spine
with two bullets. Two vertebrae were damaged. They replace them with titanium. I cannot feel my legs or stand up. They also removed five
centimeters from my liver and one kidney.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): For months Fatima's family says they were denied access even as her detention stretched on.
[09:10:00]
SHAHIN: It was forbidden for my relatives to visit me or even the lawyers. I was not allowed to make any calls.
ELBAGIR: Israel says Fatima attempted murder. And yet she was only detained, not charged. She didn't go to trial. She wasn't given any
opportunity to defend herself. And this is a story we keep hearing again and again from release prisoners. But they aren't given due process. And
yet, this crime exists alongside their names.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Israeli Prison Service responded to these allegations saying national security prisoners who were released from the
Israeli prison during the past two days was serving time for serious crimes such as attempted murder, assault and throwing explosives.
All prisoners in IPS custody are held according to the law. That's not true. CNN broke down the numbers in a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners
identified by Israel as eligible for release. 80 percent are listed as just detained which means they have not been formally sentenced.
Israel operates two systems of law in the occupied territories, Palestinians under the military, Israelis under civil law creating a low
bar for the arrest of increasing numbers of Palestinians. And as Israeli hardliners like Ben Gvir and others in this far right government seek to
characterize every Palestinian as a terrorist that number is rising every day. Nima Elbagir CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now among the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who've been wounded are hundreds of children who have lost limbs like arms or legs. Dr.
Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a well-known surgeon who spent weeks treating patients in Gaza. He says at times he was forced to operate on children and
others without anesthesia and basic medical supplies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GHASSAN ABU-SITTAH, BRITISH-PALESTINIAN SURGEON: My estimate is that there are now between 700 and 900 children with amputations of limbs and
some of multiple limbs have been amputated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Dr. Abu-Sittah who's British Palestinian is now back in London. He rejects Israeli claims that Hamas has a command center beneath Gaza's
biggest hospital. He described Al-Shifa as a "Typical barely functioning third world governmental hospital".
Now after more than two weeks of struggle there's word of a breakthrough in the desperate effort to free trapped workers in a partially collapsed
tunnel in Northern India. Rescuers say they're just about two meters away. I can give you a look at the exterior of the tunnel where the 41 trapped
construction workers are expected to emerge.
Officials and family members at the site say rescuers and ambulances are standing by ready to help those men. Let's head to Vedika Sud now, in New
Delhi. Vedika, two meters must feel like two miles still further waiting families. And for the workers of course that are trapped inside. How long
do we think it's going to take just to breach that two meter distance now?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well said Julia. It could take though a couple of hours it could also take less than an hour we're being told. It
all depends on this final stretch, really that has taken about four hours to cover already. We heard about this being the final stretch about four
hours back. We've been monitoring the situation on the ground.
Ever since there have been developments some big, some small, there have been challenges and obstructions and roadblocks on the way. But now we're
just hearing from the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he heads the state there. And on X he says and I'm going to quote him here "There has been
great success in the ongoing rescue operation. The work required to push the pipe has been done across the debris. Now preparations have been
started to evacuate the workers safely".
Now this is just coming about three minutes back Julia which means this is indeed the last slap. But we're hoping to see those men 41 of them trapped
inside that Himalayan tunnel for the past 17 days emerge slowly.
What we do know is that there is about a three feet wide pipe that has been drilled into this passageway through the debris through the rocks through
the mangled metals to get to them and they will be brought out on stretchers. You got to have rescuers pulling them out on trolleys through
ropes.
Now that process is going to be slow and steady is what we're being told. They want to make sure that these 41 laborers who've gone through trauma
over the last two weeks and more are pulled out gently and then they will be whisked away in ambulances that are on standby. Here's what a
correspondent from affiliate CNN News 18 had to say of what he's seen around him on the ground right outside that tunnel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for the first time in the last 17 days that I'm seeing so many people who have gathered over here, but only here but on top
of the houses that have been built over here.
[09:15:00]
In fact on the roads that lead to this entire story, they all have gathered over here. Nobody, absolutely nobody wants to miss this historic moment
when these people would start coming out, everyone is ready with their mobile phones.
Everyone is ready to make sure that whenever these people come out that exact moment is captured in the mobile phones because this is something
that is going to be absolutely, absolutely historic at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUD: What a moment it's going to be Julia for them to once again reunite with their families who have been camping outside this tunnel for 17 days.
Emotional scenes awaited and of course big lessons to be learned. But we can talk about that in a few days from now because for now, the focus must
be on their health both physical as well as their mental health Julia, back to you.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah, Vedika Sud, we're praying that there'll be seen sooner rather than later and fingers crossed today as 17 day wait for those men of
course and their families. For now, thank you, Vedika Sud there in New Delhi.
OK, coming up here on CNN, America's top diplomat is in Brussels highlighting NATO's commitment to Ukraine and its war with Russia. And hate
crime charges could be added for the suspect accused of shooting three Palestinian students in Vermont. More details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Right now U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Belgium meeting with Foreign Ministers from other NATO nations. This is the first
leg of Blinken's diplomatic trip which also includes stops over the coming days to Israel, the West Bank, the UAE and North Macedonia.
Washington say Secretary Blinken is highlighting NATO's commitment to Ukraine and its fight against Russia while he's in Brussels. And another
powerful storm system expected to impact Ukraine late Tuesday through Wednesday, unleashing heavy snow wind and rain. This comes on the heels of
a separate storm that left at least 10 people dead and hundreds of towns and villages without electricity.
For more on this let's bring in Anna Coren in Kyiv. Anna, that's just a sense of what the Ukrainians are dealing with in the ongoing fight against
the Russian forces at this stage. And while the White House may be in many respects preoccupied and focused on what's going on between Israel and
Hamas the message here I think that Blinken deliver is vitally important.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Julia. This weather system that hits Ukraine over the last couple of days I mean, we got stuck in it on Sunday
traveling from Central Ukraine back to Kyiv, but nothing like those people that perished. As you mentioned 10 people died from hypothermia. 23 were
injured. This hits Odessa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions.
[09:20:00]
Hundreds of towns and cities without villages -- I should say, without power. And it really just emphasizes the fragility of the power grid here
in Ukraine. You know this is weather related, let alone the war or Russia's war. We know that Russia has been stockpiling weapons. We know that Russia
is planning to hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
And we got a taste of it on Saturday here in Kyiv with an unprecedented number of drones that were launched from Russia targeting Kyiv 75 drones,
74 of those were shot down. And then yesterday there was an attack on a thermal power plant in Donetsk region. There were many, many blackouts.
There are still people without electricity.
And Donetsk is where one of the fiercest battles is being fought right now that is of course happening in Avdiivka. Well Julia, we sat down with
Company Commander Oleh Sentsov. And he was in Avdiivka. He filmed his last mission last month on his GoPro because he wants the world to know the
reality of what's happening in this war. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COREN (voice-over): In the pre-dawn light a cacophony of military firepower fills the air. Incoming explosions, outgoing fire as one of Ukraine's
assault infantry units of the 47 mechanized brigade tries to take back trenches in Avdiivka captured by Russian forces.
We need drones, we need drones says, Company Commander Oleh Sentsov filming on his GoPro. The bastards are sitting in the tree line shooting at us, he
explains. In a rare interview the former filmmaker imprisoned by the Russians in 2014 for five years tells me about last month's mission in what
has become one of the hottest spots on the Eastern Front.
OLEH SENTSOV, COMPANY COMMANDER, 47TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE: My goal was for people to watch this and know what this war is really like. Because it's
very important to record it so that people know now and know later what's a cruel and terrible war it is.
COREN (voice-over): One of his troops has been hit. They removed his body armor to reveal a bullet hole. As they apply a -- the team is even bigger
problems. Doug, the tank is coming, yields one of them and then the wolf in the sky begins.
Drone, drone FPV cries a soldier. I see it another shots back. Minutes later another soldier is hit, this time shrapnel to the legs. While talking
on the radio reporting on his injured troops Oleh also gets hit, but doesn't realize for a few moments.
There's a small hole. I see the blood, you're bleeding, says the female paramedic. Quickly patched up, Oleh leg remains focused and composed. Until
suddenly they hear the rumble of tanks. Oleh's unit tries to bury themselves in the earth as one drives past.
The female paramedic cries. We are surrounded the tanks shooting on us. Approximately 40 tons of terror so close, the earth is shaking. Drone
footage taken by the Ukrainian military shows full Russian tanks firing on the tree line. Positioned in those trees are three Ukrainian assault groups
in trenches spread out over a kilometer. Oleh's unit is in the middle. They were the only ones to be spared.
SENTSOV: We failed to hold our position and had to retreat. We had injuries but survived. But the other two groups were almost completely destroyed.
COREN (voice-over): This is the first time Oleh has failed a mission as commander in the almost two years that he's been fighting. The 47-year-old
tells me he wants the world to know the truth on the frontline. A war this father of four is returning to this week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN (on camera): Now Julia, we know that Ukraine is not at the top of the news headlines any more, but this is the reality on the ground. This is
what the war looks like in Ukraine. Those soldiers are out there right now fighting this day after day. You know President Zelenskyy has described the
battle in Avdiivka as an onslaught. He also said that this battle will determine the course of the war.
[09:25:00]
And recently we heard from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Zaluzhny who admitted that this war is now at a stalemate
that both sides in this slugfest if you like, you know this fierce and bloody battle that has been waged every single day. We talked to these
soldiers and they say it's shelling 24 hours to just hold the ground those trenches that they are in, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah, vital reporting. Anna Coren, thank you for that. OK, let's get you up to speed now with some of the other stories on our radar.
The Head of the United Nations has a message for world leaders about the dangers of fossil fuel. Antonio Guterres says he's shocked at how fast the
ice is melting in Antarctica due to fossil fuel pollution.
He was actually there over the weekend ahead of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, which begins this Thursday. And a memorial service for, Former U.S.
First Lady Rosalynn Carter will take place a few hours from now in Atlanta. Her husband Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to attend as well as
President Joe Biden, his wife Jill and other -- four other Former First Ladies.
And Sports Illustrated says it's deleted several articles from its website. It comes after a report claimed that pieces were published under fake
author names and profile pictures generated by artificial intelligence. A spokesperson says the articles actually came from a third party and in some
cases the writers used a pen or pseudo name which the magazine does not condone.
OK coming up here on, "Connect the World" the truce between Israel and Hamas is holding. The desperate efforts to keep the citizens of Gaza alive
continue the latest on the ongoing relief efforts in the region just ahead. Plus, a pause in fighting is revealed, the utter devastation war has left
behind across Gaza that story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "Connect the World" with me Julia Chatterley. And breaking news out of India, rescue workers are bringing the trapped
workers out of that tunnel in northern India. I can give you a look now. You are seeing the exterior of that tunnel where 41 trapped construction
workers are now emerging.
At least four we believe have come out and they've been trapped of course, as we mentioned earlier for 17 days. Vedika Sud is in New Delhi once again
for us. Vedika, we hoped it would happen imminently and already four hostages out, talk us through what we're seeing.
SUD: That's right, Julia. We've been told four to five at least four have been extracted from the tunnel. We're hoping to see more faces in the next
few moments. But this has been a long process with a lot of hurdles that have come in the way for these rescue teams to this day 17.
But the good news is for families, for friends and for all the rescue teams on the ground that at least four of those migrant laborers who were trapped
inside that Himalayan tunnel, which only had one exit that collapse partially are now out of that tunnel.
It's been a long process. There were a lot of heavy drilling machines that were used, that repeatedly broke down over the last two weeks. Finally in
the last stretch, officials have said that there was manual digging that was done to bring these people out.
Manual digging, manual drilling that was used as a pipe which is more than about 50 centimeters long that we've been told. As well as 50 meters rather
long and about three feet wide that has been used to extract these laborers from inside the tunnel.
They're about 60 meters in. There's a trolley that is being used a stretcher mounted on that trolley that has been pulled with ropes by these
rescue teams. And that process is still on. The entire tunnel where we're being told has been lit up with LED lights to make sure that there's enough
of light around the area for them to maneuver.
Remember, this isn't much space Julia that we're talking about. This is very restricted and limited space through which these men are being pulled
out. They haven't seen daylight in 17 days. These rescue teams have to be gentle with them, and make sure that they're delicately slowly, gently
extracted from this pipeline that they have pushed in through the last two weeks.
They tried many options Julia. They tried to drill vertically, which had its own dangers and risks. But finally it was this horizontal way in
pushing this pipe through that has finally helped successfully extract at least four of these laborers out. You're using lots of ambulances there. I
can see it on our screen here, many on standby.
You're seeing those rescue teams in yellow jackets as well and caps. These are the men who've been working non-stop tirelessly on the ground to make
sure that this mission finally is a big success 17 days after these men were trapped. And now hopefully we're going to see dozens more being pulled
out.
They're going to be whisked away in these ambulances. They're going to be spot medical checks scattered out. They're going to be taken to a hospital
from here. There's also makeshift hospital inside the tunnel that has been created over the last couple of days.
But we're seeing dozens of ambulances on standby there. We're just hoping to see more and more faces move out. What a relief Julia for those families
who've been standing by for 17 days praying, hoping to see their loved ones emerge. And that's exactly what we're seeing happen as I speak.
CHATTERLEY: Incredible rescue feet, exactly to your point Vedika. Just to remind our viewers we believe as you were saying four to five now of these
trap workers, 41 trap workers that have been there for 17 days have now been released.
A hive of activities you can see around the entrance of that tunnel around 30 rescue workers with hard hats that we can see milling around that
ambulance waiting to take the next rescued worker out of that. And as you were describing Vedika and perhaps you can expand a little bit more on
this.
A pulley system to bring these trapped workers out through the tunnel that they've managed to bore through the debris that collapsed of course, that
trap them in there. It suggests that they're only going to be able to bring them out one at a time. So we're just going to have to wait and see
hopefully we will see when the next trap worker comes out.
I'm assuming they'll be on a stretcher and then brought to that ambulance. And then we'll see them drive away and that will then be replaced by a
fresh ambulance waiting to take the next one. But it is just going to be a case of waiting to see the next rescued worker come out of that tunnel.
SUD: Absolutely. And you could see celebrations happy faces, relieved faces there. You can see the expressions on these faces of people who've been
rescuing these laborers the relief on the faces of families who've been standing by. So very quickly I'm going to put this very simply. The idea
was to make sure that there's a pipe that is drilled through this tunnel. And they've been drilling through an auger machine from America.
[09:35:00]
But unfortunately that repeatedly broke down. Finally for the last lap, they actually went through drilling manually Julia. And that's what got
them to that last two meter stretch which took a couple of hours to go through.
About 30 minutes back we saw rescue teams running into the tunnel, holding ropes, holding LED lights and also holding stretchers. And that was the
sign then that these men are going to be out any moment now. They've gone through these tunnels which is about three feet wide. It's more than 50
meters long.
And they've been pulling them out gently on these stretchers which are mounted on trolleys that are being pulled out with ropes. It's a gentle
process and it has to be because these men are not in their best health condition physically as well as mentally and that assessment will take time
Julia.
I mean you can assess the physical condition that they're in, but the mental health condition that they're in will take time to assess. They've
been inside that tunnel. Assurances have been given to them over megaphones over the last 17 days that they will be pulled out soon.
And this is the moment that those assurances have in fact, been successful and completed. And you can see the relief on the faces of people. There a
lot of activity taking place inside the tunnel and outside. Like you said dozens of ambulances have been lined up. You can barely see any of those
laborers who are trapped in there for 17 days on camera. They've been whisked away.
And if you can see right now the live video that I can, you can see the tunnel through which these rescue teams are going through. It's really not
a comfortable position to be in or a situation to be in. They're crawling out some of them, but you can see them pulling on the rope as well, trying
to get those laborers out.
As of now we know that four are definitely out of that tunnel. But there are another 37 to go. And the assessment of the physical and mental
condition is to be taken once they whisked away in those ambulances to a hospital. And we do know that the Chief Minister of the State is standing
by to assist in any way possible while his rescue teams are on the ground.
And they've been there for 17 days Julia, what a marathon run it's been? And there have been so many adversities, so many challenges they face, so
many roadblocks and so many obstructions. Imagine these huge heavy drilling machines themselves collapsing, and then going into this tunnel for the
last few meters, manually drilling through to make sure that these men can come out safely and be taken to the hospitals to assess their situation,
Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yeah and what you've been describing there at the top right hand side of our viewer screen. You can see that hive of activity there.
And as you were saying men seemingly straining, perhaps with those ropes. Vedika, I have to let you go. We will continue to watch this closely and
update our viewers when we see that next trapped worker.
And as you see on your screen there, you can see an ambulance leaving. So that actually may be the next trap worker actually leaving in the ambulance
that we can see in the foreground here waiting as the next one in line. Good news today.
Four to five of those trapped in that tunnel that collapsed tunnel in Northern India, free on their way to hospital in ambulances. As we were
saying there 37 perhaps 36 may be now if that was indeed a further individual that's been freed, still to go. We will continue to follow this
story for now. "Connect the World" will return in just a few moments time, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. CNN is holding its third annual "Call to Earth Day". "Call to Earth" is CNN's commitment to raising awareness of
environmental issues and highlighting how people are promoting conservation. From the inner city to the suburbs, the plains the mountains
and beyond, the goal remains the same, protect and nurture are connected ecosystems. This year's theme is "Our Shared Home" and here's a look at how
some young people are answering the call.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Hong Kong we're at the Harrow International School where year five students are marking "Call to Earth
Day". In addition to creating these posters, the students here have also been writing poetry about "Our Shared Home". Victoria (ph) is just going to
share a stanza of what she wrote, Victoria please share.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sigh escaped like a breath in the winter. Green grass -- is the creature we walked by. All of a silent, a perfect silence
dandelion smiled up at this ruling campus of twinkling star.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These 10, 11 odd students coming from some 15 different countries. But for most of them, there seems to be one thing in common that
is they are city kids, but already they're learning even in sprawling metropolis like Beijing. It has more than just bustling city streets, but
also farms, rivers and mountains with a lot of biodiversity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We work to make our school eco-friendly place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We raise awareness about protecting our planet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Almost 90 percent of all foreign plants and a third of crops are dependent on pollinators. It's very micro level. But we want to
help address this problem as best as we can as students. So these are places where they can nest and rest while they also pollinate for the
world.
STOUT: And you can see just how built up it is, this is right in the heart of Seoul. Havens for wildlife that can be found in our urban backyard are
beautiful and they deserve to be protected. And the students here in Hong Kong, they're doing just that by raising awareness, learning, education,
even engaging in beach and trail cleanups. From Hong Kong all the students here at Harrow Hong Kong like to wish you a "Happy Call to Earth Day".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: OK, that just about wraps up this show. "World Sport" is up next. And I'll see you again at the top of the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
