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CNN Live Today

America Under Attack: Five Firefighters Found Alive in Rubble

Aired September 13, 2001 - 13:13   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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: We seize, when we can, on good news and hopeful signs. As we told you earlier, five firefighters have been found alive in lower Manhattan.

CNN Martin Savidge joins us now.

Marty, what can you tell us?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are just trying to verify the information that we received now from two different sources, what is appearing to be an amazing discovery and certainly a heartfelt one. A short while ago, while they were clearing the debris -- and there is a very frantic search going on right now, a full-out effort -- they report they uncovered an SUV that belonged to the New York City Fire Department. And when they uncovered it and opened the doors, two firefighters stepped out, and three others that are inside are also said to be OK. That would be a total of five firefighters.

That is coming to us from a medical person who is on scene and one of the rescuers who said he talked to the firefighters. They are said to be in food shape, considering the fact that their vehicle would have been buried, and they were living in it for two days.

This, obviously, would only refuel the efforts to find survivors. If you find five, perhaps there are more such miracles that are waiting out there. So word is spreading quickly through the rescue community here, of what appears to be a miraculous discovery. The efforts are now to try to find more people.

Apparently, this vehicle was parked outside of what we think was maybe the north tower, or tower one, of the World Trade Center -- somehow managed to survive, despite the collapse of the building. And the remarkable discovery was made two days later.

Again, reporting five firefighter said to have just been pulled out alive.

Back to you.

BROWN: Martin, stay with me for a second. I apologize. I know you are trying to report this. Can you give me a sense of how close to the building they were? Do you know that?

SAVIDGE: I don't know specifically. Obviously, they would have been among those that responded sometime after either the first crash or the second, but before the building collapsed. The exact location in reference to the building is also hard to ascertain, simply because the geography down there is so remarkably different than it was two days before.

BROWN: Have the people you have talked to been able to give any indication of how much rubble was around this SUV, how deeply these five New York firefighters were buried?

SAVIDGE: No, they have not. Again, this information is just sort of rippling out from ground zero.

BROWN: I understand.

SAVIDGE: It's clear. We've been told there were no survivors that were above ground, that they had been carefully checking through with cadaver dogs. Perhaps the fact that these people were sealed inside a car could have made a difference, or perhaps the fact that they may truly have been buried. We don't know how keep, Aaron.

BROWN: Marty, why don't you go and keep reporting the story, and we'll check back with you as you come up with new information.

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