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Trapped Workers Emerging from Tunnel in Northern India; Interview with Father of Former Hamas Hostage Emily Hand; Palestinian Red Crescent See 150 Aid Trucks Arriving in Northern Gaza; Ukraine Expecting Powerful Storm System; Video from Ukrainian Trenches. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 28, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Julia Chatterley. It is 10 am here in New York, 8:30 pm in
New Delhi.
We do begin with that breaking news from India. After more than two weeks, rescuers are bringing the trapped workers out from that Himalayan tunnel.
You are looking, once again, at the exterior of that tunnel, where 41 trapped construction workers are now emerging.
More than a dozen have come out of that tunnel so far, having been trapped for 17 days. Vedika Sud is in New Delhi for us.
Vedika, as we were just discussing, an incredible breakthrough after 17 days of work, to get to these workers that were trapped inside that tunnel;
12 we believe now have been released. We know that we've got a few more to, go and it's just going to take a bit of time to get them out.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We've been told now that the 13 workers confirmed to CNN who have been pulled out of that collapsed tunnel,
Julia. We have another 28 to go, since the 41 of them.
But what a moment. Amid the applause, the, cheering and the tears, you see them being pulled out, one by one. And that through an evacuation pipe that
was drilled into this passageway, that was full of debris and mangled metal and rocks.
It has taken 17 days, 17 days of disappointments, of heartbreaks, of heavy machinery breaking down but it has culminated to this, a moment that
families, friends, colleagues, of these laborers and, of course, the rescue teams, the government and most of the people across India have been praying
for.
You, know what I really found very heartening is this temple, right outside the tunnel, that we've been watching very closely over the last few days.
Every day, there was a Hindu priest there, praying for the safety of these men, followed by family members and rescue teams who were praying there.
And today that hard work, all the perseverance by the rescue teams and the officials involved, has culminated into this huge success and breakthrough.
It has taken 17 days to get here, despite using all the machines, which are heavy drilling machines that broke down.
The last two meters, finally, the last phase, the last lap had to be done manually, through drilling through men on the ground. And it is only after
that that they reached out to these 41 men, who were slowly being extracted through a pipe, which is about three feet in width, about 50 meters long.
They've been mounted on stretchers that were taken in about an hour ago. And they're being pulled out gently on wheels with a rope. It's like a
pulley system that they're using and the officers on the ground have told CNN, we have to be very careful. These men have been through a lot of
trauma of the last 17 days, we have to be gentle.
The entire passageway, we're being told in that tunnel, has been lit up with lights, to make sure that these men don't get scared, they're not in
fear and they feel more comfortable where they are being pulled out and extracted from the tunnel.
The ambulances, dozens of them, whisk them away to make sure that they get immediate medical attention, both for their mental health condition as well
as their physical condition.
It is going to take a while, of course, to be certain how they're doing after this trauma. But of course, the physical health will be assessed
immediately and that is the success story after 17 days.
This is a Himalayan terrain that we are talking about, ecologically fragile. There was a landslide that caused this tunnel to partially
collapse, closing, Julia, the only exit out of this tunnel.
But today, you are seeing relieved faces of officials, rescue teams, of those laborers trapped in and of their families. You are seeing
celebrations. We just saw sweets being distributed, Indian sweets, which in India, are called laddus. They were being distributed by the chief minister
of the state, by others on the ground.
Because this is a moment they've been waiting for. They want to cherish it. This is a moment where those 41 men are being brought back home and being
whisked away, taken away from the debris, taken away from the tunnel and being taken away from uncertainty, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: You can see, them again, we are seeing you live pictures again of that operation to get those further trapped workers out and you can see
what we've got.
[10:05:00]
Now stacked ambulances, as we just showed our viewers, one driving away, which may have been the 13th trapped worker, then being whisked off to
hospital.
But they certainly have a conveyor belt setup, where they rescue one of the trapped workers. You can see that in the center, in the back of your
screen. We don't even get to see them on the stretchers.
They simply go into an ambulance and we see them progressing out. So it is certainly is working.
Vedika, do we have any sense of the health condition that these trapped workers are in?
I believe they were being fed food, water and obviously receiving oxygen through a 173 foot pipe that was inserted through the debris, in order to
get to, them and provide them with that support.
But do we have any sense from the updates that we've had of what kind of health they are in?
SUD: Their health has been monitored constantly, Julia. From the second and third dates of when they managed to get through, at least partially
through this tunnel, and use megaphones to reach out to these men.
I remember, we filed a story also of how the first video emerged from inside the tunnel, where you can see their faces through the pipe. And
though, through the megaphone, the official said, don't worry, we will pull you out.
It has been a couple of days since but they are out today. Food, water, mobile chargers, medicines, vitamin D, all of that was being pushed
through, as well as oxygen through these pipelines to these men.
And constantly, there was medical counseling that was continuing across the debris to these men. But of course, a physical assessment can only
determine now, once they are all pulled, out how well they are physically.
For me and for many, of course, around India and overseas and for the officials and for the doctors, the concern would be their mental health.
This is 17 days of undoubted trauma they've been through. They've been holed up in a small area, 41 of them. And they've been assured that they
will be pulled out. There has been uncertainty on the other end, which has ended only 17 days later.
So of course, we do know, at least through the medical counselors and the medical experts that we've been speaking to over the last 17 days, that
they're doing fine. They've got the medicines they need but only a physical assessment, I repeat, will now assert or determine how well they are.
And it is all going take a lot of time to understand the trauma they've been through. So the mental health condition of these workers will take
even longer to assess.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. We've seen another ambulance moving out of that tunnel. So at the moment, we have further news of any further workers being freed
and then moving up to hospital, we will get them to. You
But we do get a sense of it, just looking at it, as you are seeing these live pictures of the movement, of the ambulances and the emergency services
as they go. You see, in the background there of the shot, you can see a further ambulance that has just appeared.
And in the center of the screen, that is, where as we were describing in the last hour, you actually seem to see emergency workers pulling, which is
that pulley system, Vedika, that you've described, bringing those trapped workers out by a stretcher through that long tunnel and to bring them then
onward, to safety.
What about the families?
Because you mentioned that the praying, the celebration, as we start to see those individuals released. But a lot of the families have been there now
for many days, waiting, as we described. This has been 17 days that the rescue efforts have been taking place.
What are the families starting to see, say and do as they see their loved ones released?
SUD: Emotional scenes, really, on the ground. And that too has been since day one. For the first week, they lost hope almost by the end of the first
week. Second week, there were other machines that came in, drilling through. There was hope that was renewed.
And we've been speaking to these families on the ground. They've been camping right outside the, tunnel Julia, for at least two weeks. And
they've been coming, home absolutely disappointed for the last 15 days. But now, today, they are rejoicing.
They are eating those Indian sweets, they are distributing them, they are waiting to embrace their loved ones. We aren't sure yet if the family
members were called into the tunnel to meet their loved ones, the trapped men. We will get confirmation on that shortly.
But we can see those laborers, who were trapped inside, being embraced by the rescue teams, by the chief minister of the state. But it's been a long
wait for them. And from complete distain and disappointment, today, there was so much excitement in their voice when we spoke to them.
My team spoke to them here in Delhi over the phone. And they were so excited and thrilled. They all said that this wait is coming to an end.
One of them said, I spoke to my brother inside and I said, help is coming your way. It is a matter of hours.
And he said, don't worry. We are fine. You take care of yourselves outside. We will see you on the other side.
That has happened, truly, now. There was another family member that my colleague spoke to. He had already lost one of his sons a couple of years
back in a similar incident.
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And today, he is standing right there, with tears in his eyes, welcoming his other son, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: That's a goose bump moment, Vedika. We are looking at two further ambulances leaving. It does feel like they are picking up the pace
here. They've got a system that is working now and they are moving more and more quickly.
Thank you for that update. We keep our fingers crossed for everyone involved. Vedika Sud from New Delhi, thank you.
Now the latest hostage prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel could happen anytime now. Each side has received a list of names of those
expected to be freed today, 10 more hostages held by Hamas and 30 more prisoners and detainees held by Israel.
It is set to happen on the first day of a two-day truce extension, mediated by Qatar with assistance from Egypt. Now in the past hour, both sides
reported clashes in northern Gaza and accused the other of violating the cease-fire.
Hamas describes it as a, quote, "field skirmish." It is not clear if it will have any impact on today's planned exchanges.
Now Monday, joyous reunions as 32 Palestinian prisoners and 11 hostages were freed. Qatar's foreign ministry says extending the cease-fire beyond
tomorrow is contingent on Israel's condition that Hamas release 10 additional hostages each day.
Now for every hostage released, Israel must free three Palestinian prisoners. Israel's defense minister says the country's military will fight
with a stronger force when it returns to combat against Hamas. While addressing troops Monday he indicated fighting could resume within days and
so the operation will happen across all of Gaza.
I want to talk more about the truce now and what could happen ahead. We have one of Israel's leading investigative reporters and a security and
intelligence commentator for Ha'aretz.
Great to have you on the show, sir.
Can I start by talking to you about what we've seen as "skirmishes," quote, according to Hamas in the north of Gaza already?
Just from what you are hearing, what you understand, how much further do you believe this truce can hold?
(AUDIO GAP)
CHATTERLEY: We are going to try and reestablish a connection there. We will try a couple more times. For now, we will get back to him.
Oh, actually, maybe we can.
Sir, can you hear me?
This is Julia.
No?
We are still struggling. OK. We will see what we can do on that.
All right, for now, the father of one of the freed hostages over the weekend is describing how his daughter survived 50 days in Hamas captivity.
Thomas Hand says 9-year-old Emily is coming out with details of what she went through, quote, "little by little," since she was freed on Saturday.
He says she had to run from house to house, as Israeli forces attacked Gaza and that she believed she had been held for a year. Hand has spoken with
CNN throughout his ordeal and now he tells our Clarissa Ward about the emotional reunion he had been waiting for for more than seven weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS HAND, EMILY'S FATHER: He said, they should be here in a couple of minutes, like, whoa, I can't believe it. And all of a sudden, the door
opened up and she just ran.
It was beautiful, just like in -- just like I imagined it, you know, running together. I squeezed. I probably squeezed too hard. And suddenly,
when she stepped back a little, I could see her face was chiseled like mine. But before she left it was chubby, girly, young kid face.
Yes, 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 her was -- she was just whispering. I couldn't hear her. I had to put 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. She 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's had no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: We'll have more from this interview with Emily's father throughout the day right here, on CNN.
[10:15:00]
Now U.S. efforts to win the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, including an estimated nine American citizens, continues at this hour.
Sources telling CNN that CIA director, William Burns, is back in Qatar for new talks with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts. Katie Bo Lillis is
in Washington, D.C., for us.
Katie, this is the kind of person you deploy when you don't want to send in a State Department official, you don't want to send in your secretary, for
example. But we have someone that we know has been back and forth there and is familiar to all.
What more do we know about the latest meetings?
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly so. Burns has been a CIA director, he's been integral to the Biden administration's efforts to
negotiate the release of hostages. Of course, they are not negotiating with Hamas directly. The talks have been mediated by Qatar.
Sources tell our colleague, Alex Marquardt, that Burns has been joined in Qatar not only by a top Egyptian intelligence official but also Israel's --
Mossad's David Barnea, who's been the point person for Israel in the hostage negotiations.
Burns has been in regular contact with Barnea and, of course, has been in and out of Doha over the past month, including as recently as earlier --
the first week of November, discussing what was then just a nascent agreement about releasing hostages in exchange for some kind of pause in
the fighting.
This meeting comes as, obviously, the Biden administration has just been successful in engineering the two day extension in the pause in fighting,
with the expectation that Hamas will release an additional 10 hostages for each day in the pause.
We expect, in the coming days, continued and incredibly sensitive conversations about the possibility of extending this pause even further. A
key priority for the Biden administration is the release of American hostages, as you mentioned.
In particular, two American women who were expected to be part of the original tranche of hostages that had been released over the past four days
and ultimately did not exit Gaza.
But as you say, this is the kind of context in which American presidents have traditionally deployed the CIA director to act as a shadow diplomat.
Biden certainly has used Bill Burns heavily in this capacity, not only in Israel but also has routinely deployed him all around the globe.
Burns has been a globe-trotting CIA director and has been used by the Biden administration pretty heavily as part of its Ukraine policy.
So again, you have somebody here who is deeply experienced not only in the Middle East as a former diplomat but also deeply experienced as acting as a
sort of behind the scenes shadow diplomat under the Obama administration as deputy secretary of state.
He spearheaded secret talks with the Iranians that ultimately became the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Again, it speaks to the sensitivity of the mission
and I believe the seriousness with which the Biden administration is taking this, that Bill Burns is the envoy that they have sent.
CHATTERLEY: Certainly. Katie Bo Lillis there, thank you, joining us from Washington, D.C.
Now no letup in the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside Gaza. The U.S. military says it is sending three planeloads of critical aid for citizens
there. The World Health Organization now warns that more people could die from disease and health conditions in Gaza than from the bombardments if
the situation does not improve soon.
Larry Madowo joins us from Cairo.
Larry, we have the longer term issues that we can talk. About. In the short term it puts extra emphasis on the need for critical aid and medical
supplies, food. Just winter clothes as the weather continuing to deteriorate, which I believe is part of that U.S. aid drop.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. Three planeloads coming into Egypt. The first arrived today in north Sinai, heading into Gaza and
the U.S. (INAUDIBLE) not part of the current pause in fighting, even if the truce is not extended the aid will come in.
But because of the temporary truce, about 800 (ph) trucks have been able to get into Gaza. That's the largest humanitarian convoy since October 7th;
200 of those trucks made it into northern Gaza, where some of the worst devastation has been seen.
But this is why you hear those warnings from the World Health Organization. You're looking at a small strip of land, where 1.7 million people are
displaced with no food, no water, no electricity. The sewage system is collapsing.
The water desalination system does not work anymore because there is no power to run it. And so many people are crowding in small places, they are
seeing a lot of cases, especially among infants, of diarrheal disease.
That is where you heard this dire warning from the World Health Organization about the potential for more people dying from infectious
diseases or a huge chronic diseases than from the bombardment that they have seen over the past 50 days.
Here is one man who's been living through this and finally got out, went to the market and tried to get some food for his family.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED AL-NAIJAR, KHAN YOUNIS RESIDENT (through translator): The biggest catastrophe that will only compound our pain more and more will be if the
fighting resumes and if the truce is not extended.
I call on all the world to stand by us to extend the truce and to create a cease-fire once and for all because we have been through enough. It will be
a tragedy, a catastrophe, if this aggression continues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: There is no guarantee, though, that this truce can be extended because, as part of the deal, Hamas would have to release 10 more hostages
for an extra day in the pause in fighting. They have 20 more hostages to release today and tomorrow.
After, that the Qataris are saying -- they are the lead negotiators for this -- that they have no guarantee that there is more hostages to release.
That means that it's very possible that the fighting will go back and Israel has promised to do so.
So for the people who are suffering in Gaza, they wanted long term humanitarian -- they want a long-term cease-fire, not just a temporary
pause in fighting.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the problem is they might have to wait longer for that. Larry Madowo, thank you for that.
Now let's return to the breaking news from northern India. Of course, after more than two weeks of rescue efforts, we have been telling you that we
were seeing the trapped workers being removed from the tunnel.
According to the government district information office in that region, all 41 workers have now been rescued. That is an incredible rescue feat that
has taken place. We suggested 10 minutes ago that the pace of those rescues was picking up. It now suggests all 41 rescue workers have been rescued.
You are still seeing live pictures there of activity. You have got ambulances, you can see on the screen and in the background there. Rescue
workers are walking out from where those workers were taken from the tight tunnel.
Vedika Sud in New Delhi was telling us that an incredible rescue effort after 17 days trapped, all 41 rescue workers now have been saved, off to
the hospital. And any further updates we get on their health we will bring them immediately to you.
Once again, the top line news, there all 41 trapped workers in northern India in that collapsed Himalayan tunnel, rescued at this hour. Stay with
us here at CNN. More to come.
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CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD.
U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is in Brussels to highlight NATO's commitment to Ukraine. He is meeting with foreign ministers from other NATO
nations to discuss their, quote, "steadfast support for Ukraine in its war against Russia."
Meanwhile, Ukraine is fighting another battle against severe weather. A powerful storm system is expected to impact Ukraine late Tuesday through
Wednesday unleashing heavy snow, wind and rain.
[10:25:02]
It comes on the heels of a separate storm system that left at least 10 people dead and hundreds of towns and villages without electricity.
For more on these developing stories, let's bring in Anna Coren in Kyiv.
Anna, describe the challenges now that weather is presenting to the ongoing battles that the Ukrainians are fighting.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is extreme weather. This is just one of the few things that Ukrainians have to deal with. That
extreme weather you're talking about happened over the weekend. As you say, 10 people died from hypothermia, 23 injured. It happened around a whole
swath of Ukraine.
And we are expecting more and more bad weather. We are coming into winter now. But really, in the scheme of things, this is the least of people's
concerns. Ukrainians are waiting for those missiles and drones to hit Ukraine's energy infrastructure. This weather, the bad weather just shows
the fragility of it.
We know that Russia has been stockpiling weapons and we know that they will target the power grid, just like they did last winter. This caused mass
blackouts and obviously terrorized the population.
We got a taste of that on the weekend when Russia launched an unprecedented number of drones at the capital, 75 Shahed drones, 74 of which were shot
down. But yesterday Russia hit a thermal power plant in Donetsk region. There are now massive power outages there.
In this region is where one of the most fiercest battles is currently being fought in this war. It is in Avdiivka, on the eastern front line. We sat
down with company commander Oleh Sentsov, who was there last month. And he filmed on his GoPro his last mission. 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 (through translator): 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 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 chest (INAUDIBLE), the team
has even bigger problems.
"Duck, the tank is coming," yells one of them. And then the war from the sky begins.
"Drone, drone, FPV," cries a soldier.
"I see it," another shouts 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 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 are shooting on us."
Approximately 40 tons of terror so close the earth is shaking. Drone footage taken by the Ukrainian military shows four 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 (through translator): We failed to hold our position and had to retreat. We had injuries but survived.
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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 front line, a war this father of four is returning to this week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Julia, it's chilling to watch this footage. This is the reality of this war. This is what the war in Ukraine looks like on the front line. And
Oleh wants the world to see this. He wants the world to realize what the soldiers are doing day after day after day.
You know, he said there was constant shelling in the five hours that he was there. This is a battle hardened soldier. Before that, he fought in Bakhmut
and Zaporizhzhya. But he said Avdiivka was something else. There are just waves and waves and waves of Russian troops being sent at the city.
We know how desperately Russia wants to claim it. And we're hearing from Ukrainian officials of this meat grinder tactic by the Russians, just like
they did in Bakhmut. The tragedy of this is that Oleh and his team were not able to hold that line. The two other teams were killed on either side.
We heard from the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, this war is now at a stalemate. This is a war of attrition. Both sides are in a
slugfest, just trying to hold this turf, this trench, this earth. They're not making any headway. And, yet countless and countless soldiers are
dying.
CHATTERLEY: Anna Coren, thank you so much for that report.
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CHATTERLEY: Breaking news now from India where all 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel have now been rescued. I can give you a look
at the exterior once again of the tunnel, where the construction workers were stuck for 17 days. Let's get back to Vedika Sud in New Delhi.
We were saying 30 minutes ago that the pace seemed to be picking up. They really got this operation underway. Now all 41 released. Now the
celebrations can really start, an enormous relief for the families and for those workers, too.
SUD: Absolutely, you can see Indian sweets been distributed inside and outside the tunnel by the rescue team workers, by the chief minister of the
state and others. There is celebration, cheering. There is applause for the great work, the herculean task of getting these people out, really
commendable; 17 days.
At least 14 of the 17 full of disappointments, full of a lot of bad news coming through of the big, heavy drilling machines breaking down
repeatedly. But this was the final stretch and it has been successful.
The outer walls drilled through horizontally and vertically and the three other options that the rescue teams were mulling over the last couple of
days. But it's been the horizontal plan of drilling through the debris, drilling through the mangled metals, chilling through the rocks that has
been successful.
What they did is they drew a pipe of diameter of about three feet in width through the debris and finally got to these workers. It's true, they have
been gently pulling them out.
Now that all 41 are out, they mounted them on stretchers, put them on wheels and used the pulley system that you and I discussed in detail a
short while ago, gently pulling them out with a rope. That is how 41 of them have come out in the last 19 minutes.
The prime minister has put out a message on X; you also have the chief minister who confirmed that 41 of them are out. They've all been whisked
away, Julia, to the hospital for immediate medical attention. That, of course, will be the focus now.
It shifts from the evacuation process to understanding and ascertaining what the health condition is like as we speak. Of course, there will be a
reunion with their family members once it is certain that they are in the frame of mind to meet them at length. And perhaps it will take time before
they return to their homes.
The concern at this point, Julia, should be their mental health condition. They've been trapped in there for 17 days. There were moments, such close
moments, where they were told that they would be rescued and they were at the brink of being rescued when the other machine broke down.
So you know, being told that we are right here, pulling you out; hey, sorry, you have to wait another day, two days, a week. It really takes a
toll on you mentally. That is what these men have been through.
It's commendable to see how they survived these 17 days. These are hostile conditions. It is cold in the north in the Himalayas.
[10:35:00]
Winter has set in. It has been raining. There is very little food, water, oxygen that they have been consuming. It's been going through the
pipelines. The oxygen, the water, the food, the medicines, all of it.
But hats off to these men who have been waiting to be rescued and now they are out. Tomorrow will be daylight, the first daylight that they are going
to see in 17 days, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, hats off to the rescue workers as well. They have struggled and fought through setbacks over the last 17 days. I want to talk
a little bit about some of the pictures we are seeing.
Because one of the things that occurred to me is we knew there were 41 ambulances waiting to take these 41 workers away. We can still see
ambulances. It made me think that perhaps some of the workers are standing and have not been taken immediately to hospital.
We're now seeing lots of pictures being taken. Before we pan across and follow these gentlemen up what appeared to be some kind of hill, we did see
pictures being taken at the bottom.
Whether or not it was workers celebrating with their families or even just the rescuers celebrating the moment, I'm not quite sure. But we are trying
to get a sense of perhaps what we're seeing here.
Maybe they brought out all of these workers and we're just seeing them coming back down again now, these individuals. It's tough to see what we're
seeing. But the bottom line -- and you said it incredibly well -- a great deal of celebration, of relief, an enormous feat having been achieved.
We will continue to watch these individuals to see if we can get a sense of whether any of these are indeed workers that are being reunited with their
families. It's tough to tell when we're looking at it like this.
But there are certainly lots of pictures being taken among the scenes that we are seeing, Vedika.
Here we go, now we've got some of these pictures. There you go. You see some of the individuals not whisked away straightaway to hospital. They're
actually able to take pictures with rescuers and with their families. I think those smiles say it all.
Vedika, we are showing our viewers pictures of the smiles of reunited families, workers with their families.
SUD: Yes, these are photo op moments as well by officials. The chief minister was inside the tunnel some time ago, taking those pictures,
embracing these laborers who are pulled out. These rescue teams are celebrating, cheering inside the tunnel.
Lots of them will be the chief minister and state official rescue teams embracing these men as they walked out. Those ambulances you were referring
to, it's not only for the 41 men that were stationed there; there were additional ambulances even for the rescue teams.
This was a risky job and the last lap of it was extremely risky. So they were on standby, not only for the 41 laborers to be extracted from the
tunnel but even for the rescue teams who, God forbid, if they were injured going through the dangerous circumstances, they would also be rushed to the
hospital.
There are more than 41 ambulances stationed there. There was a makeshift hospital inside the tunnel as well. We're now being told that all 41 have
been extracted. The prime minister has also wished them well and said this was a very tough endeavor and a huge project they had to undertake.
Celebrations across social media on the ground, across India. I was talking to you about a temple some time ago, a small temple, symbolic for Hindus in
this area. There was a small temple stationed right outside this tunnel. I'm not sure if it was there before this project was inaugurated or after.
But you had a Hindu priest there who is praying for their safety. Soon, you had family members praying there and then rescue teams. That's a lot of
effort going into this, kudos clearly to the rescue teams working day in day, out it's not been easy.
Like I, said this is a treacherous region. It is ecologically extremely fragile. Lots of lessons to be learned from this one incident really of
whether construction should continue in these fragile Himalayan regions. We will talk about that another day.
Today the focus is on these 41 laborers who have made it out. It is a story which is miraculous in nature. It's a story that perhaps we would not have
believed in until about we go that these men could be pulled out. Even the rescue teams were losing hope at times.
But someone was always pushing them, on saying we will get to them. And through the megaphones over the past two weeks, they were promised they
will be pulled out. It has culminating into what we're seeing on your screen today, celebrations across that area, outside the, tunnel inside the
tunnel, Indian sweets being distributed.
Relief on the face of families and friends, loved ones, rescues teams, officials that those men are out. The focus will now be on the hospital
they're being taken to for immediate medical attention.
CHATTERLEY: Certainly. You do raise important questions. Though the questions will come very quickly about the role of the tunnel to improve
connections to the Hindu pilgrimage sites in the region.
[10:40:00]
I know it was promoted by the prime minister too. So those are going to be important questions to ask, particularly given the difficulty of the
terrain.
I do think you're right to question the views on this going forward.
We are just seeing another ambulance there leaving. Once again, they are taking hostages -- sorry, hostages -- rescued workers to the hospital to
check them out and make sure everybody is OK; 17 days.
Despite the fact that they were provided with food, we know and water and oxygen, of course, through a pipe that had been created, certainly we need
to check physically how they are.
And to your point, Vedika, just mentally how they've been able to cope with the 17 days trapped in there -- and the concerns that perhaps these rescue
efforts would not be as successful as they are.
Just to reiterate, for anyone joining, us all 41 workers were trapped in this Himalayan tunnel in northern India are now rescued and on their way to
safety, hospital checks and the rest of it.
Just to go back to your point of the PR opportunity of the local officials here, I think there's some credit they can be given for the dedication in a
17-day effort. Not only were they going horizontally in to try and save them but they had a backup plan to go vertically to in case that failed.
So a number of incredibly tough decisions taken over these days. And fingers crossed for good results for all 41 of those workers, now safe and
sound and on the way to hospital. Vedika Sud, I will let you go, thank you so much for your reporting on that.
More news after this short break, stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Julia Chatterley. A reminder of the breaking news this hour from India.
All 41 workers who were trapped in the collapsed Himalayan tunnel have now been rescued. You are looking at the exterior of the tunnel, where the
construction workers were stuck for 17 days.
You can still see those rescue workers now, many of them heading out. Ambulances still waiting.
[10:45:00]
The important news is all 41 workers have been released from the tunnel. And they're on their way to the hospital for checks and to be reunited with
their families.
We are also receiving word this hour of a skirmish in Gaza between Israeli and Hamas forces that is being described by both sides as a violation of
their five-day-old humanitarian truce.
As of the moment, there's no indication that this will affect the plan to swap prisoners and hostages that is expected to take place anytime now.
Hamas is expected to hand over 10 hostages and Israel is expected to free 30 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
For many in Gaza the truce has allowed them to revisit their destroyed homes and bury their dead. It is relative quiet, at least; countless
stories of grief are emerging. Jomana Karadsheh brings us the story of one family's devastating loss. And I should warn you, her report contains
images that are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Khaled (ph) and Reem (ph) were inseparable. Her grandfather was her whole world. Her favorite game,
pulling his beard and he would pull her piggy tails.
"I'll let go," she says, "if you let go."
Khaled (ph) just can't let go of his little Reem (ph).
Now searching for memories amid the rubble of his home.
"This was Reem's (ph) doll," he says.
The family was asleep when an airstrike nearby brought down their house in southern Gaza last week. Khaled (ph) woke up screaming for his children and
grandchildren, struggling to walk in the dark and through the wreckage to find them.
"I could not find anyone. They were buried underneath all of this rubble," he says.
"My daughter, Maisa (ph), was here. Her children, Reem (ph) and Tada (ph) were here in her arms."
Maisa (ph) and her sister barely survived. After a few days in intensive care, they're now recovering at a relative's house.
"I felt something heavy on top of me. I started screaming," Maisa (ph) says. "I heard Reem (ph) screaming next to me. I told her, 'There's
something heavy on top of me. I can't reach you.' I said my final prayers and next, I woke up in the hospital."
Maisa (ph) woke up to the news that her 3- and 5-year-old children were gone. They're lifeless bodies found together under the rubble.
"They slept next to each other that night. They slept early," she says. "I told them to stay up a little longer but they said they wanted to sleep. At
the hospital, I was just numb," she says. "I hugged them, I wanted to get as many hugs as I could. No matter how much I hugged them, I did not get
enough."
Their final days lived in a war, they were too young to understand why they no longer could dress up, go out and play or get their favorite treats.
With their father abroad working, they lived with her grandfather. Reem (ph) was so attached to him and he spoiled her.
"They kept asking for fruit. But there's no fruit because of the war," he says. "I could only find them these tangerines."
Khaled (ph) holds the tangerine he gave Reem (ph), the one she did not get to eat. And pinned close to his heart, her tiny earring. He breaks down as
he remembers their final evening, how his grandchildren begged him to take them out to play.
But he could not. Airstrikes were everywhere. Khaled says he is not a fighter. They had nothing to do with the war. But like so many in Gaza, his
family paid the price.
Khaled (ph) held Reem (ph) in his arms for one last time. He hugged her motionless body, opened her eyes and kissed her goodbye.
"I was asking her to kiss me like she used to. But she did not," he says. "I used to kiss her on her cheeks, on her nose and she would giggle. I
kissed her. She would not wake up," he recalls.
"I held Tada (ph). I fixed his hair the way he liked it. I was wishing, hoping they were only sleeping," he says. "But they weren't sleeping. They
are gone."
Gone a month before her fourth birthday, a birthday Reem (ph) shared with her grandfather.
"She was the soul of my soul," Khaled (ph) says -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHATTERLEY: And a reminder of the breaking news now from India, all 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed Himalayan tunnel have now been
rescued.
[10:50:00]
I can give you a look once again at the exterior of the tunnel that we've been closely watching, where those construction workers were stuck, of
course, for the last 17 days. We're looking at a final ambulance, it seems, outside of the tunnel entrance.
Let's get back to Vedika Sud in New Delhi.
Vedika, it's tough to find words to emphasize the relief of the success of the 17-day mission. It's had plenty of setbacks. The relief of the
officials there, the families and indeed the workers themselves, that, for the first time in 17 days, breathing fresh air.
SUD: Absolutely, it is nothing short of a miracle. That is what a lot of officials on the ground would say. But you know we want to acknowledge the
achievement of the state as well. The biggest jawed (ph) that they faced in the ops (ph) was the augur (ph) machine, which is a heavy drilling machine
that broke down repeatedly.
The last two meters that we covered today was through manual drilling. They sent scores of rescue teams inside, that drilled through the debris,
drilled through the metal. This is an ecologically fragile area.
This tunnel collapsed partially because of a landslide and this rubble and debris was, of course, unstable and unsteady ground. So it was equally
dangerous sending rescue teams inside as it would be to rescue those people who are trapped inside.
There was scores of ambulances on standby over the last six hours. We anticipated a lot of movements during the day. That's exactly what
happened. That is what we've seen. And now these 41 men have been successfully extracted from the tunnel through a 50 meter pipe which is
about three feet wide in diameter.
They were pulled out through a pulley system after being mounted on stretchers gently. And they illuminated the entire passageway of this path
to make sure that these men, who have faced severe trauma, were pulled out gently and reassured that they were on their way out and on their way to
safety.
Seconds later, after every man was pulled, out they were whisked away in an ambulance away from the rubble, Julia, away from the debris, away from
danger and away from uncertainty which they had faced for the last 16 days.
CHATTERLEY: A pulley system was used in a far smaller pipe than you are seeing here, which is this tunnel entrance. Just to give viewers a sense of
what you're seeing. It seems on the side are curtains. We did not really get to see the removal of any of these workers, as we saw this operation
take place over the past hour.
They were whisked into ambulances for the most part and taken away, even as we saw their celebrations. Vedika, we will hear tales of heroism that took
place over the past 17 days. In particular, as you said, when the machinery broke, digging literally with their hands in order to try to get to these
workers.
Have we had any updates so far?
And I know that it's early. But as you, said there was a hospital set up inside the tunnel.
Do have an update on the health of these men?
SUD: I think we will have to wait a while. Maybe overnight, perhaps. It's already about 9:00 here in India local time. It's dark out there. The
priority obviously is to take them to a medical center to assess them overnight, to make sure that any needs are catered to at this point,
especially mental health as a primary focus.
For the medical experts who are tending to these men. Over the last 17 days, Julia, there have been pipelines through which oxygen has been
supplied. Food has been supplied, initially it was dry food, when they had a wider pipe they started sending cooked food. There is water that's been
sent in.
Medicines, vitamin D, mobile chargers. They have assured that whatever they could supply these men with through these very narrow pipelines, medical
attendants, medical supervisors have been on a megaphone with them over the past two weeks.
They've been assessing their condition, talking to them, telling them to eat, telling them to hydrate themselves along with a constant assurance
that they will be pulled out. That has culminated into what we're seeing on our screen today, which is a huge success.
Not short of a miracle, 41 men pulled, out extracted from a tunnel that collapsed partially on the 12th of November due to a landslide in the area.
This is a very ecologically fragile region. A lot of questions must be asked by environmentalists, by ecological experts.
[10:55:00]
The government should also be held accountable at this point for what we've seen over the last 17 days. It has been nothing short of a disappointment
to have these men stuck inside the tunnel. But today there has been success. And, at least for this, moment that should be celebrated, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Certainly. You called it not far short of a miracle. I think most people watching this will consider it a miracle, after 17 days, to get
food, water, oxygen to them and to get all 41 safely out. Maybe we'll have to wait a few hours now until we hear about their health. We will keep our
fingers crossed on that front.
I think we're witnessing a miracle in northern India today, with all 41 of those workers out.
Vedika, the families, we can only imagine. I know you've been talking, you and your team, to many of them. The sheer relief and joy at getting their
workers and family relations out safely after 17 days of what can only have been unimaginable fear. Vedika Sud in New Delhi, thank you to you, now.
We will continue to cover the developing story in the coming hours. That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN, "STATE OF THE RACE WITH KASIE
HUNT" is up next.
[11:00:00]
END
