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CNN Live Today

India Train Blasts; Tunnel Tragedy in Boston

Aired July 11, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following breaking news out of India. These are pictures that we're seeing from Mumbai, India, where a series of blasts rocked a rail line at rush hour. Our Seth Doane is there in Mumbai with more on that.
Seth, what can you tell us that you have learned?

SETH DOANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm actually in New Delhi. Our conversations with Mumbai have been difficult at best, as phone line there are jammed. We do have, though, confirmation of seven blasts from the chief police commissioner in Mumbai, and the Mumbai police are now telling CNN that there are at least 40, they say at least 40, dead.

What we're seeing in terms of pictures here in Indian media are extremely graphic, very bloody pictures. So far we're being told 40 injured -- 400 killed in and at least seven blasts around Mumbai, which is the financial capital of India.

KAGAN: And you were saying there were blasts earlier, but they don't think that they were related?

DOANE: Correct, there were a number of blasts earlier in the day in Kashmir. The home secretary here in India has said they expect that there is no connection between the blasts earlier today and these in Mumbai.

KAGAN: And right now nobody taking credit for what's happened in Mumbai?

DOANE: Nothing that we've heard. This is -- nothing that we've heard so far on the Mumbai blasts. This happened about an hour and a half ago. The first blasts hit a commuter train in the western suburbs of Mumbai. So details are still sketchy. I've spoken to a couple of people on the ground there. They say the streets are packed, it is chaos, which can certainly be imagined.

KAGAN: All right, well, the latest information would be that those fatality numbers going up, at least now 40 dead.

Seth Doane from New Delhi, we'll check back with you as more information becomes available. Thank you.

Back here in the U.S., traffic troubles following a tunnel tragedy in Boston. Commuters who use that i-90 tunnel, they are urged to take alternate routes or public transportation. This after a portion of a concrete ceiling in the tunnel gave way last night. It crushed a car and it killed one person. We are expecting a news conference momentarily.

Meanwhile Steve Cooper of our affiliate WHGH has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE COOPER, WHGH REPORTER (voice-over): The wailing sounds of sirens, as emergency equipment scrambling to get to the scene. That's the Mass Pike eastbound, where a huge investigation is just getting under way. This all happened around 11:00 last night. Turnpike officials saying a 40-foot section of the ceiling fell to the roadway below, crushing a car. This is the Mass Pike connector eastbound that leads the Ted Williams Tunnel, and then on to the Logan Airport. It appears a steel tieback that holds the panels to the ceiling simply let go. The male driver crawls out of the car. The female passenger is killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appears that the way the car was struck, the driver's side stayed more intact than the passenger side. He was able to crawl out the window. The panel was on an angle. It was only about six or 12 inches that he could of got through, but he was able to get out of there.

COOPER (on camera): 3:30 in the morning, and while state police are still investigating exactly what happened inside that section of the tunnel, the signboards here were quickly changed, alerting motorists to the pact that there was a big problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary when I'm going through there.

COOPER (voice-over): Uneasy for motorists, also uneasy for the chairman of the Turnpike Authority, who calls what happened here today unacceptable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Public safety is the first job. We're going to make sure the tunnels are safe. What we have found right now is that we're looking at about 200 feet of tunnel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And once again, momentarily we do expect a news conference to begin in Boston with officials telling us about the latest they have learned in their investigation. One person, the person in the passenger seat, died. The driver escaped almost unscathed.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: On to North Korea and the missile issue and some delicate diplomacy. Today China calling Japan's proposed U.N. resolution of imposing sanction for Pyongyang's recent missile test an overreaction. Japan has delayed a vote on the resolution to give China more time to negotiate with its North Korean allies.

While diplomacy is playing out in public what is going on behind the scenes?

That's what our Brian Todd is looking at.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warning to Pyongyang from Tokyo, a preemptive strike from Japan is not off the table.

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE CABINET SECRETARY (through translator): If there are no other means to prevent a guided missile attack, then it is legally possible to say that to attack the missile-launching base is within our right to self defense.

TODD: Japan's leaders have said this in the past, and they also make clear they're weighing diplomatic options. Experts say Japan doesn't have much capability to strike North Korea right now, but could develop it quickly, and Japan is involved in a broader effort to squeeze Kim Jong-Il's regime.

For three years now, the United States has led a program of intercepting ships carrying illicit North Korean exports, spying on the North's weapons programs, sharing intelligence, cracking down on the regime's banks and money-laundering operations.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We have a variety of different levels of partnerships with countries throughout the regions.

TODD: Most nations involved, like Britain, Japan, Australia, are open participants. Michael Green, a former National Security Council official in the Bush administration, says the program also targets regimes like Iran and Syria, but has hit North Korea especially hard.

MICHAEL GREEN, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: It makes it much harder for Kim Jong-il to get cash, which is what he's been doing with the export of drugs, methamphetamines, heroin to Australia, $100 counterfeit bills, fake Viagra, fake cigarettes. This is a Mafia-style operation run by a state.

TODD: For example green cites the North Korean ocean freighter intercepted Pong Su (ph), intercepted off the coast of Australia three years ago carrying 150 kilograms of heroin.

(on camera): Green and other experts say the crackdown on operations like that and other efforts to isolate North Korea could have provoked the north's recent missile test. They also say it could lead Kim Jong-Il to step up his ongoing cooperation with another U.S. nemesis, Iran.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Back to our developing story out of India after that series of train blasts. The number of dead continues to rise. That number now at 40. A number of people injured, as well. More from Mumbai just ahead. Also we're standing by for a news conference from Boston. A piece of concrete falls in a tunnel built by the Big Dig. One woman dies. What do officials have to say about that? We'll go live to Boston when the news conference begins.

And we're crunching numbers and crushing the debt. The president says there is good news from the government's overspending, but not everyone is celebrating.

We'll explain, ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Breaking news out of India. The number keeps rising in terms of the number dead after a series of blasts rocks a commuter- train system. At least 40 dead at this time. At least seven blasts rocked those trains. It was during rush hour in Mumbai, India. At least one train was split in half by one of those explosions. The Western Railway system shut down. Mumbai's subway system put on high alert, so are many of the airports across India. More on that as that story develops.

Also we're standing by waiting for a news conference to begin out of Boston, Massachusetts. A situation last night where a huge section, 10x30-foot section of concrete calls from the Mass Pike connector onto the roof of a Honda Accord. The passenger was killed. The driver got out almost unscathed. We'll see what officials have to say about that in just a few minutes.

Well, most of us don't plan to spend more than we make, but the federal government it does it all the time. It's called a budget deficit. And the figures can just blow your mind. Last hour, President Bush trumpeted what he describes as good news. He says the nation's red ink won't be quite as deep as initially feared.

Let's take a look at some of those numbers. The White House had forecast a deficit of $423 billion. President Bush says his tax cuts have stirred growth and helped him trim about that estimate to about $300 billion.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Let's go over to Betty Nguyen at the breaking news desk with the latest -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Daryn, we just keep watching the numbers, and they just simply keep rising in this explosion. Seven blasts. Now we're being told 40 people, at least 40 people, killed. These trains in fact were packed. And the cause for the high death toll so far is the fact that this happened during rush hour. People were headed home. So these trains were completely packed with commuters.

In fact, the blasts were so strong, Daryn, that one of the trains was split in half by the explosion, and let me give you just a little instance of what some of the correspondents on the ground said about what they were seeing. We're looking at some video of the devastation.

But one of the correspondents said -- and I'm quoting here; it's very graphic, but just take a listen. "Limbs are lying everywhere. Bodies were cleared from the track by local business owners who rushed from their shops." Obviously all these people taken off guard by the seven blasts on a commuter train, killing -- look at this video, I mean, people bloodied coming off the trains, really not knowing what is going on, not realizing how enormous these blasts were, and the fact it affected -- 40 people so far dead in this, dozens injured.

We're just standing by to see, one, how these people are faring as many of them are being rushed to get medical treatment, but, two, to See if this death toll continues to rise. No one wants to see that, but of course These blasts affecting so many people. These commuter trains were just simply packed, Daryn. It was rush hour. Couldn't have come at a worse time.

KAGAN: All right, Betty, thank you. We'll continue to follow the story as new picture and information does become available.

Betty Nguyen, thank you.

Well a different explosion story. First there was that, and now a scandal rocking an upscale New York neighborhood. Remember this story was followed for two hours yesterday. Ahead, was this blast really a suicide attempt? We will look at that.

And accused of kidnapping, raping and burying a 9-year-old girl alive, John Couey get as legal break before his trial begins. The story ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We continue to get updated information on the situation in India where a series of at least seven explosions have rocked a railway there. Associated Press now upping the number of fatalities. The A.P. saying as many as 80 people have been killed in these train blasts in Mumbai. This is the financial capital of India. At least one train split in half by the explosion. In addition to the increasing number of dead, a number of people injured as well. No group has claimed responsibility for that attack.

We're also watching here in the U.S., in Boston, one woman is dead after a huge piece of concrete fell from that Boston tunnel. It's all part of that controversial project known as the Big dig. Officials plan on holding a news conference there any minute. You'll see that live here on CNN.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Also ahead, chilling words and graphic pictures on the Web. There's a new videotape out there. It shows Osama bin Laden, a picture of him, and claims to show the ugly aftermath of the killings of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq. More on that straight ahead.

Plus, the latest from India, where a series of blasts have rocked the rail line there. Associated Press saying as many as 80 people have been killed in these attacks. We'll have the latest from Mumbai just ahead.

You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's get the latest on what's happening in India right now. A series of at least seven blasts rocking the rail line.

Betty Nguyen has that -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, so far we understand that the numbers keep rising on that. We're keeping a close eye on that as well. With those blasts, Seven of them, 40 dead; now 70 dead. I told you this happened during the height of rush hour, around 6:00 in the evening Mumbai time. So obviously a lot of people were affected by that.

But I want to tell you about something else that has just crossed the wires, Daryn, something that's coming in through the Associated Press. This dealing with an investigation of soldiers accused of rape and murder in Mahmudiya. This is what we know so far: defense attorneys have requested a gag order that would even apply to President Bush and other ranking officials in the case of former Army Private Steven Green. Now he is accused of rape and murder in this case involving an Iraqi family in Mahmudiya.

See, investigators have said that Green and other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division plotted to rape a young Iraqi woman that they first saw at a traffic point. Not only was the woman killed, but three of her family members were also killed. So this has been a case that a lot of information has been circled about this, what people are saying had occurred at that time.

But of course all of this is still under investigation. A trial will continue on this. So in the meantime, defense attorneys for Steven Green are saying there is too much information that is getting out there so we want a gag order, a gag order that would not only apply to people in the trial but as well as President Bush and other high-rankings federal officials. So that's the latest that we know in this case, and of course we'll continue to bring you more developments just as soon as we get them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Betty, thank you for that.

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