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CNN Live At Daybreak

Entire Families Wiped Out in Flight 587 Disaster

Aired November 13, 2001 - 08:21   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Flight 587 was headed to the Dominican Republic, and many of the 251 passengers were from there. Entire families wiped out in the disaster.

Martin Savidge is at the Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan, unfortunately, the place that seems to be pretty consistently set up to accommodate relatives of the victims.

Martin, it wasn't that long ago that you were down there talking to families affected by the September 11 attacks -- good morning.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula. And that is exactly right, that is what strikes you most as you stand here.

There is no question, and it's terrible to say that New York City has become the experts in the nation, when it comes to dealing with grief, with sorrow, with loss and with tragedy, and now, with the loss of Flight 587, it is once more renewing that expertise.

The Family Assistance Center has been set up here. It was moved from out of JFK Airport, where it had been yesterday -- moved here for a number of reasons. One, size, central location is another, and the fact that there can be a little more privacy than the hotel that had been set up out at the airport there.

Family members are sequestered in what's called the North Pavilion of the Jacob Javits Center. There, they can be briefed and updated by city officials as to the investigation, and also to the recovery effort, which they have made great strides.

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, this morning, was talking about this double impact of grief for the Queens area, the Rockaways, and for the Dominican Republic community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI, NEW YORK: My first thought, when I reflected on that, was it can't be that it's happened to this community again. I mean, they were hit so hard by the World Trade Center, so many police officers, firefighters, people that worked at the World Trade Center. And then to have it a plane to the Dominican Republic where -- that's another one of our very, very strong and beautiful communities, the Dominican community. And when you know a lot of the people involved, it makes it even worse.

But this is also a beautiful and very, very good community. I mean, they -- this is a community of families, of religious faiths, in both cases, and I think you're going to see a very, very strong response by them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: There is a whole host of caregivers that are here -- grief counselors on hand, medical personnel, support personnel. American Airlines has a team of at least 60 members here, many of them Spanish-speaking, because, as you point out, many of the victims from the Dominican Republic.

And it should also be noted that there were 41 people from the Dominican Republic that lost their lives in the World Trade Center attack -- Paula.

ZAHN: Martin Savidge, thank you so much.

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