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American Morning

Relief Teams Comb Debris in Bali

Aired October 15, 2002 - 06:32   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in Bali say they are questioning two Indonesians about this weekend's deadly nightclub blast, which killed some 180 people, including at least two Americans. Hundreds of people, though, are still missing.
Steven Brooks Webster from Huntington Beach, California and Deborah Snodgrass from Phoenix Arizona were among those killed in the blast.

And former all-American football player Jake Young is among those still unaccounted for.

The bombs ripped through two nightclubs, which were popular among tourists. It was the seventh major bombing in the region in the past three weeks.

The Bush administration says al Qaeda was likely involved.

Relief teams are combing debris now, looking for bodies and hoping to find some of those missing people I just told you about.

CNN's Mike Chinoy is in Indonesia following the latest developments. He joins us live by videophone.

Bring us up-to-date -- Mike.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, here in Bali, there is still a sense of shock and disbelief at what has been an oasis of peace and tranquility, while the rest of Indonesia has been racked by violence and turmoil, has now become a killing ground.

Behind me, you can see what has become a spontaneous outpouring of grief and commemoration by the local population. Large numbers of Balis for the past hour making their way here about 75 or 100 yards from the site of the bomb blast, carrying candles, laying flowers, bringing wreaths -- a slow, mournful procession, somber faces, many of the people with tears in their eyes. A smattering of foreigners also, they are crying as well, weeping for friends or relatives who died in the blast.

You get a sense from this picture of just how traumatized Bali has become, an island that is predominantly Hindu, unlike the rest of Muslim Indonesia, that's been immune from the troubles in the rest of Indonesia. Meanwhile, down the road, investigators all day long have been combing through the rubble, looking for clues. The fire department is saying that because the blast collapsed a stairwell in one of the nightclubs that they are concerned there may be up to 20 bodies that have still not been recovered.

Meanwhile, some of the foreigners who were here on Saturday night and were near the bomb when it happened are still trying to come to grips with what they went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN CABLER, BALI BOMBING SURVIVOR: The first bomb went off in the opposite pub that we were in, it just leveled the place. Two seconds before I even looked at my friend, we were engulfed in flames. All I saw was people burning, little girls with their hair on fire, trying to put it out, and I'm trying to tell them to run.

I just kept -- I just ran. I came to a back corner of a wall, and there was a metal fence, so I just kept hitting it, hitting it and hitting it, broke my shoulder, but got the fence opened. And I hope -- I think a lot of people escaped behind me, and then, just horror everywhere. It was the worst thing ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHINOY: One of the things that is making this whole process of identifying the victims so difficult is that many of those who died were burned beyond recognition, and it's been very, very tough to get any positive IDs.

So far, only 40 of those who died have been identified, and even here, there are some questions. The Australians have sent in a forensics team, and they are going to re-identify some of those whose identities have already been provisionally established, because the earlier IDs were based on jewelry, clothing, and not on solid scientific forensics evidence. And there is concern that the condition of the bodies is so bad that there may have been some mistakes made.

But there are still many people who are unaccounted for. Relatives and friends have been coming into Bali, trying to find news of their loved ones. The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has been here. Australians comprised most of the victims. The process of identifying all of those who died is going to be a long and painstaking and extremely painful one -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy, thanks for the update -- reporting live from Bali this morning.

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 October 15, 2002 - 06:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in Bali say they are questioning two Indonesians about this weekend's deadly nightclub blast, which killed some 180 people, including at least two Americans. Hundreds of people, though, are still missing.
Steven Brooks Webster from Huntington Beach, California and Deborah Snodgrass from Phoenix Arizona were among those killed in the blast.

And former all-American football player Jake Young is among those still unaccounted for.

The bombs ripped through two nightclubs, which were popular among tourists. It was the seventh major bombing in the region in the past three weeks.

The Bush administration says al Qaeda was likely involved.

Relief teams are combing debris now, looking for bodies and hoping to find some of those missing people I just told you about.

CNN's Mike Chinoy is in Indonesia following the latest developments. He joins us live by videophone.

Bring us up-to-date -- Mike.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, here in Bali, there is still a sense of shock and disbelief at what has been an oasis of peace and tranquility, while the rest of Indonesia has been racked by violence and turmoil, has now become a killing ground.

Behind me, you can see what has become a spontaneous outpouring of grief and commemoration by the local population. Large numbers of Balis for the past hour making their way here about 75 or 100 yards from the site of the bomb blast, carrying candles, laying flowers, bringing wreaths -- a slow, mournful procession, somber faces, many of the people with tears in their eyes. A smattering of foreigners also, they are crying as well, weeping for friends or relatives who died in the blast.

You get a sense from this picture of just how traumatized Bali has become, an island that is predominantly Hindu, unlike the rest of Muslim Indonesia, that's been immune from the troubles in the rest of Indonesia. Meanwhile, down the road, investigators all day long have been combing through the rubble, looking for clues. The fire department is saying that because the blast collapsed a stairwell in one of the nightclubs that they are concerned there may be up to 20 bodies that have still not been recovered.

Meanwhile, some of the foreigners who were here on Saturday night and were near the bomb when it happened are still trying to come to grips with what they went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN CABLER, BALI BOMBING SURVIVOR: The first bomb went off in the opposite pub that we were in, it just leveled the place. Two seconds before I even looked at my friend, we were engulfed in flames. All I saw was people burning, little girls with their hair on fire, trying to put it out, and I'm trying to tell them to run.

I just kept -- I just ran. I came to a back corner of a wall, and there was a metal fence, so I just kept hitting it, hitting it and hitting it, broke my shoulder, but got the fence opened. And I hope -- I think a lot of people escaped behind me, and then, just horror everywhere. It was the worst thing ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHINOY: One of the things that is making this whole process of identifying the victims so difficult is that many of those who died were burned beyond recognition, and it's been very, very tough to get any positive IDs.

So far, only 40 of those who died have been identified, and even here, there are some questions. The Australians have sent in a forensics team, and they are going to re-identify some of those whose identities have already been provisionally established, because the earlier IDs were based on jewelry, clothing, and not on solid scientific forensics evidence. And there is concern that the condition of the bodies is so bad that there may have been some mistakes made.

But there are still many people who are unaccounted for. Relatives and friends have been coming into Bali, trying to find news of their loved ones. The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has been here. Australians comprised most of the victims. The process of identifying all of those who died is going to be a long and painstaking and extremely painful one -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy, thanks for the update -- reporting live from Bali this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.