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Explosion Rocks Russian Subway
Aired February 06, 2004 - 15:09 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Death and chaos to report in Moscow. Today's subway bombing took a devastating toll, killing at least 39 commuters and injuring more than 100 others. Investigators say the attack was timed to coincide with the morning rush hour.
CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty with our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): A packed Moscow metro car deep underground, morning commuters on their way to work. Suddenly, a blinding explosion, a bomb, investigators believe, detonates in the second car of a Moscow subway train, tearing apart the bodies of people closest to the device.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I felt a heat wave, darkness and my face burning. I fell on the floor immediately. There was a lot of noise. Only when they opened the doors, we could walk away.
DOUGHERTY: As rescuers swarm into the metro, survivors climb or jump out of subway windows, pry open doors, then run or walk through the pitch-black underground tunnel to safety.
In Moscow hospitals, some of the injured fight for their lives, but doctors say the death toll could rise. Russian prosecutors launch their investigation, the immediate suspicion, a terrorist act by Chechen rebels, a charge rebel Aslan Maskhadov leader denies. President Vladimir Putin condemns terrorism as the plague of the 21st century and has tough talk for the people who carry it out.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia does not conduct talks with terrorists. Russia destroys them.
STARR: As security officials gather evidence, Mr. Putin gets a call from U.S. President George W. Bush, expressing his condolences and his solidarity.
(on camera): This bombing takes place just as Russia is preparing for presidential elections in March. And President Putin says there could be a connection, a way of putting pressure on him and sowing fear. It's a serious test for the entire country, he says. And here on the streets of the capital, people know only too well how true that is.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 6, 2004 - 15:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Death and chaos to report in Moscow. Today's subway bombing took a devastating toll, killing at least 39 commuters and injuring more than 100 others. Investigators say the attack was timed to coincide with the morning rush hour.
CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty with our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): A packed Moscow metro car deep underground, morning commuters on their way to work. Suddenly, a blinding explosion, a bomb, investigators believe, detonates in the second car of a Moscow subway train, tearing apart the bodies of people closest to the device.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I felt a heat wave, darkness and my face burning. I fell on the floor immediately. There was a lot of noise. Only when they opened the doors, we could walk away.
DOUGHERTY: As rescuers swarm into the metro, survivors climb or jump out of subway windows, pry open doors, then run or walk through the pitch-black underground tunnel to safety.
In Moscow hospitals, some of the injured fight for their lives, but doctors say the death toll could rise. Russian prosecutors launch their investigation, the immediate suspicion, a terrorist act by Chechen rebels, a charge rebel Aslan Maskhadov leader denies. President Vladimir Putin condemns terrorism as the plague of the 21st century and has tough talk for the people who carry it out.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia does not conduct talks with terrorists. Russia destroys them.
STARR: As security officials gather evidence, Mr. Putin gets a call from U.S. President George W. Bush, expressing his condolences and his solidarity.
(on camera): This bombing takes place just as Russia is preparing for presidential elections in March. And President Putin says there could be a connection, a way of putting pressure on him and sowing fear. It's a serious test for the entire country, he says. And here on the streets of the capital, people know only too well how true that is.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
