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Frantic Race for Survivors Underway in Condo Rubble; Biden Gets Infrastructure Deal, Fate Depends on Democratic Senators. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired June 25, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, June 25th. I'm Brianna Keilar, alongside John Berman and CNN's Chief-Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on the scene in Surfside, Florida.

The sun is rising there now over a desperate search-and-rescue operation. We are going to go back to Sanjay here, in just a moment.

Crews have been working through the night. They are trying to locate survivors of this devastating-building collapse. 99 people are still unaccounted for this morning. We know that at least one person is dead. I think we actually got an update from the mayor that four people may have passed away. And we're expecting to get a more formal update from officials here, shortly.

There is video from inside of a parking garage where rescuers have been focusing their search. It is delicate. This is dangerous work. They have structural engineers who are right beside them during this.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: You can see why. Also, this surveillance video shows the moment the building collapsed, just horrifying.

This morning, we are going to talk to a number of experts who are trying to figure out how it could have happened. Meanwhile, family members are holding out hope, waiting for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN SPIEGEL, HUSBAND OF WOMAN MISSING AFTER COLLAPSE: We have a lot of hope that Judy is still alive and still there. She's an amazing person. She's great grandmother, mother, wife.

JOSH SPIEGEL, SON OF WOMAN MISSING AFTER COLLAPSE: My mom is an absolutely amazing person. She's a fighter. And she fights for every single one of us. And we won't stop, until -- we won't stop fighting, until we find her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They won't stop fighting. That's the husband and son of Judy Spiegel. They are going to join us next hour.

Let's get right down to Sanjay Gupta who is, again, on the scene with CNN's Rosa Flores, who's been there since early yesterday. And I know the work continues there.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And no doubt. And, I mean, every time I hear those -- those messages from these families, Rosa, I mean, it is -- it is heartbreaking. We see this sort of thing, you know, around the world. I've seen this in Haiti, but not here. I have not seen something quite like this here.

What -- what do we know? It's 29.5 hours now since this building collapse. What -- what can we say about the sort of status of the search and rescue, at this point?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, they are really focusing on the voids that firefighters have found within the rubble. And that, of course, is some of the most dangerous work, Sanjay. Because, really, what these firefighters are doing is they are trying to shore up those voids to make it safe enough for them to crawl in between that rubble, to listen and look for signs of life. So, that's exactly what's happening behind us.

And you mention this earlier. They face so many challenges. We heard of fires that they've had to fight. There, of course, are hazards in this building. This was a residential building, so there is a lot of water. There's fumes from gas and propane, there's vehicles. And so, there are all of these complications that are making this very, very difficult and very dangerous.

GUPTA: You know, I -- I am seeing this for the first time this morning and now light's coming up so I am getting a better idea of what this looks like. You see the water being sprayed there, some of those fires may be still ongoing, also the smell, just the -- all the various things that are put into the air after a collapse like this.

I understand they have been using very high-tech methods. They have been using low-tech methods. I mean, I guess, the idea is to just listen, is that right, for anything, any signs of life?

FLORES: You know, they are using technology, they are also using just their ear to figure out if they can hear anything. From what firefighters tell us, they haven't been able to hear voices but they have heard banging. That, of course, is hope for a lot of these families. They are also using cameras because cameras -- and, of course, technology nowadays is very advanced, they are able to send cameras in between crevices and holes to get some visibility through some of these tunnels that they're building to try to get to people.

And I've got to say, because from this side of the building, you really can't see the collapse. I went, last night, on the beach side of this. This -- that really gives you a sense of how this building collapsed that you don't get from this side.

[07:05:06]

On the other side, you really do see, there's 55 storeys that are just missing.

GUPTA: This is also the side that's facing the ocean, which may be relevant to this whole conversation. We don't know yet. That's going to be a longer-term conversation, obviously, search-and-rescue missions are going on now.

Brianna, Rosa also told me earlier that this a community where people may come back and forth. I mean, there may be long-term residents in this building. There may be, I guess, snowbirds, people who come back and forth for the weather. We don't know. And that makes it more challenging trying to figure out exactly who these unaccounted people are, where are they, were they in the building, maybe not. So that is part of this discussion as well, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And we have been hearing experts describe to you, Sanjay, just how painstaking this process is. Search teams going rock by rock, they are going piece by piece through the rubble. They are looking for any sign of life. They did hear some banging noises from beneath the debris yesterday and they are holding out hope that they might find some victims alive.

The firefighter leading the rescue effort talked to CNN last night.

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DISTRICT CHIEF JASON RICHARD, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: So in this type of collapse, even though it is a pancake collapse, as the slabs of concrete slide and move toward the ground, they do create voids, you know, as the rubble crushes and slabs of concrete land on top of it. There are, definitely, voids. So we are hopeful that we will find patients in those -- in those spaces.

We're using canine assets from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Florida Task Force One, as well as listening devices that we have as part of our cache of equipment. We also stop and hail callout to in the rubble pile, listening for any sounds, tapping, voices, anything we might hear. So, occasionally, we'll stop all of our operations and just have everybody go silent and listen. That, in conjunction with the dogs moving about the rubble pile constantly as well as the listening devices.

We have cameras that we can bore holes into slabs of concrete and put into other small-void spaces in order to see, you know, around corners and in small areas also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: We're about a block away from this building collapse over here. You can sort of see it over my left shoulder. I am joined now by Jimmy Patronis, the fire marshal. Thank you, sir. You have been helping oversee rescue efforts here. Thank you for your work. I mean, it's been 29.5 hours now.

What we have heard is that there was one person who had died, there's 99 who are still unaccounted for, 102 that have been accounted for. What's the latest? JIMMY PATRONIS, FLORIDA STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND FLORIDA'S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: So, they're being innovative. We're even going and looking at the license plates of the cars that are in the parking garage to try to do more cross-referencing and matching to verify if people are in or out of the building.

As you assemble this manifest, as you talk to the loved ones at the unification center, it's tough. That's about the hardest place I've ever dealt in my entire life was meeting with the families there. But we have got to get the answers to understand who could still be in the building.

GUPTA: What is the sort of working sort of theories now in terms -- I mean, do we have any idea how many people were actually in the building? Because my understanding is people go back and forth, these aren't necessarily all permanent or full-time residents.

PATRONIS: Right.

GUPTA: How do you go about sort of assessing that?

PATRONIS: So, again, continue to just -- to work through the information that we can get. You don't want to put wrong information out there. The emotional trauma that people are going through right now is extraordinary. There is no sense putting out information that could be any potentially worse for them. But as these men and women of Task Force One, they only have one mission, and that is to save lives.

And they've started since 1:30 in the morning, yesterday, as they're here now, as we will see Orlando and Naples come in later today to supplement their efforts.

GUPTA: So, more people, obviously, coming in. This has now been declared an emergency. Can you give me an idea of the scope of the mission? Again, we can sort of see this but how many people are actively involved right now with the search and rescue?

PATRONIS: So, at about 8:00 -- I'm sorry, 7:00, last night, Eastern Time, about a team of 80 was just a huge compliment went in and started working. And, again, they got build out a strategy. They got to build out a plan. So as that team of 80 was coming in, again, we had every department in this region respond.

But the skill set that these men and women have are unique. They are -- they are made -- built to go from building to building after a hurricane, disaster, manmade or natural. They're used to digging through debris to find lives. You're going to have here, I guess, in a little bit, one of our trauma surgeons. The team is embedded with, you name it, whatever it takes to save somebody's life at the scene of the saving.

GUPTA: I have seen these types of situations in other countries. Where, in the field, even in the rubble, sometimes, medical care has to be administered, I.V.s being placed, things like that, before you'd even necessarily lift the pressure off of somebody because that's part of the medical care that has to be done, right away. [07:10:10]

This is unique, isn't it? I mean, I've never seen anything like this in this country. I mean, hurricane's different versus a building collapse like this.

PATRONIS: Sure.

GUPTA: And it keeps being described as a pancake collapse. What sort of unique challenges does that present?

PATRONIS: Well, again, the fear of what's taken place. The fires that have been happening to the evening, you get a lot of lithium ion batteries. You got a lot of other

combustible materials that, eventually, they will catch to a point where they will ignite. Well, now, you are adding water to the building to control a fire, while men and women are saving lives and that water adds a tremendous amount of weight. It then challenges the integrity of what is still standing there. And then that delicate balance of saving lives while risking lives.

GUPTA: It's 29.5 hours. Again, we know what we have heard so far is that 99 people are unaccounted for, one person has died. Is -- are there any updates? Do we know any more on this?

PATRONIS: That's the best information that I have got to provide. Again, I want to give as much hope as possible because these men and women only have one way to operate, and that is to continue fighting until the mission is over. And that's what they are doing right now with concrete saws, with leveraging equipment, you name it. These are the best of the best that the United States has to offer.

Disasters don't tell you when they're going to come. You can kind of predict a hurricane, but you can't predict where it's going to land. You can't predict anything like this and this is what they are built to do, even at 1:30 in the morning.

GUPTA: I know this is emotional for you. I can read it on your face. I can only imagine, I mean, what it's like for you, for the workers. Are they hearing any signs of life? I mean, we've talked about banging that was heard earlier. They got these -- everything from dogs to high technology. What do we know at this moment?

PATRONIS: So, that's another challenge. So they can use infrared. But you got to think. You've got to have -- you've got conflicting elements that could make infrared blurry, challenging, inconsistent. So, you know, but when you got fires now, you're competing. So, you know, as they're using the technology, that's where the dogs and, of course, listening for anything that could be a clanging.

But as you are pumping water out, you're also shifting materials. That creates a ripple effect. And you are competing with all the noise of the equipment running right now. So they're doing the best they can with what they've got and at a tremendous risk, tremendous risk.

GUPTA: You know, I just have to ask, and it's always one of these things, where the clock is obviously ticking. It's 29.5 hours. What does that mean to you? I mean, are there certain timeframes that we are sort of looking at here?

PATRONIS: Well, again, we're going to continue this. This is a live, active rescue. It is not, any way, shape, or form, a recovery effort. We wouldn't be bringing crews in from other parts of the state if that were the case. We're going to do everything, put every effort of our energy into saving the lives in that building and the families deserve it. The people deserve it, you know? And our first responders are the best at it. They really are.

GUPTA: Jimmy, thank you very much. I hope to keep talking to you. John, I mean, you heard it there. These missions are currently under way. They are going to be happening, obviously, for as long as we know, I mean, for hours to come. Certainly, more crews coming in, I can tell you, from around the state but also around the country, as well, to assist with this. So, we will keep you posted as we get more details.

Right now, what we have heard, one person has die, 99 still unaccounted for, that is the latest information here from Fire Marshal Patronis. John?

BERMAN: And one things we have heard from officials there, Sanjay, is there is no shortage of resources. They have, luckily, all the resources right now. The problem is just the scope of the disaster, the absolute devastation from these buildings themselves and the challenges of the weather, the challenges of trying to get the people that they have, where they need them in the building. So we are going to look at that much further as the morning continues.

Sanjay, thank you so much for being there. Standby, because we are going to speak to a trauma surgeon who treated some of the survivors of that building collapse.

KEILAR: Plus, President Biden celebrating a major bipartisan deal on infrastructure, but will Democrats in the Senate get on board? Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joins us just ahead.

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GUPTA: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta here in Surfside, Florida, the site of this heartbreaking collapse, 55 units of a 136-unit building. The 55 units that were facing the ocean have collapsed. What we have just heard is that one person has been confirmed to have died. 99 people are still accounted -- unaccounted for. And these really desperate search-and-rescue missions are underway.

I am joined by Dr. Howard Lieberman. Howie, thank you for joining us. You are a trauma surgeon. You were operating yesterday. You got called to come be here, be in the field, to try and take care of people who might potentially be found but also, the rescuers, themselves.

DR. HOWARD LIEBERMAN, TRAUAM SURGEON AT HOSPITAL THAT'S TREATED PARENTS FROM THE CONDO COLLAPSE: Correct. So, as you said, I am a trauma surgeon. I am also a member of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Urban Search and Rescue Task Force One. So I kind of have a dual role.

I initially started as a trauma surgeon, that they needed someone, and then we got the official deployment, so I kind of shifted from trauma surgeon at Jackson Memorial Hospital to urban search and rescue with the Florida Task Force.

GUPTA: I know you've been working through the night and I want to ask you about that, specifically, how that's going. But the thing that strikes me, Howie, is that these types of events, they affect the entire community, right?

LIEBERMAN: Absolutely.

GUPTA: Do you know anybody or anybody that's been affected?

LIEBERMAN: So, it's kind of funny you ask that. But, yes, it is a small community. I live in Miami Beach. Surfside is not far away. I come here often. But what really touched on was I got a phone call from a friend of mine I went to medical school with.

[07:20:00]

I couldn't answer the phone because I was busy. But then I got a text message from another friend of ours. Long story, short, this friend of mine I went to medical school with, his cousin, his cousin's wife who is pregnant, and their one-year-old, are missing and lived in the building.

GUPTA: That is heartbreaking to think about. I hope they're found.

LIEBERMAN: Yes. I mean, well, we're not going to stop until every stone is removed. So --

GUPTA: These are always tough conversations to have because the optimism. You want to remain hopeful. We are 29.5 half hours in now. How do you -- from a surgical perspective, someone who specializes in this, who do you sort of think about things?

LIEBERMAN: There is no absolutes, and there is no 100 percent, things do happen, miracles do happen. As a trauma surgeon I see that kind of almost every day. You know, the unexpected can happen. You have such a hardworking, dedicated team here. The Urban search and Rescue Florida Task Force is probably second to none. They're professional. They're working their butts off pretty much nonstop. And everybody has a positive attitude and we just don't stop. I mean, we are always optimistic. We are always hoping we're going to turn over something and find someone buried there alive. And again, we won't stop until every stone is pretty much removed.

GUPTA: For people who have been rescued, what sorts of injuries have been seen?

LIEBERMAN: Yes. So, mainly, it's been crush injuries, orthopedic injuries. You know, I'm sure you have seen pictures of the building kind of pancaked on itself. So, you know, a lot of people, just heavy debris, getting pinned. So, crush fractures, orthopedic injuries.

There is two patients that I know of that were brought to Ryder Trauma Center. At that time, I was operating so I don't really know what their condition was. And then, from there, I came straight here. So --

GUPTA: My understanding is that they were hearing noises, banging, things like that, not necessarily voices but at least some signs of life. Are there any updates on that? Is that continuing?

LIEBERMAN: So, we haven't really heard anything in a while now. But that's not to say there's still, you know, not people trapped if they are alive. For different reasons, you know, they might be obviously -- as time is running out, they might be getting a little bit more sicker or ill, not as vocal as they were before. But like I said, we are going to keep, you know, keep searching.

GUPTA: And you think about -- I mean, you are a trauma surgeon. You're onsite here, as I mentioned, to help care for the rescuers themselves.

LIEBERMAN: Correct.

GUPTA: But if you find somebody, it's not as simple as simply lifting a level off --

LIEBERMAN: I wish it was.

GUPTA: -- and extricating them, right?

LIEBERMAN: Yes. It's very difficult and, obviously, we have a lot of training for this. Sometimes it involves going in there, having to do a field amputation, removing a leg or an arm or something, in order to save the patient. So it's always that life over limb. That's like sort of, you know, extreme circumstances.

Other times, you know, you get lucky, you find them in a pocket and you are able to basically, by hand, remove the rubble, if it's not too heavy. We have all the heavy equipment coming in. That helps also. And, yes, so every situation is a little bit different. But we have a huge host of, you know, tools and modalities available for us. So, whether it's just our hands or some sort of technology or other equipment, it's all at our disposal.

GUPTA: You have everything you need?

LIEBERMAN: We have everything we need, yes.

GUPTA: All right, Howie, Dr. Lieberman, thank you for everything that you do. Hang in there. I am sorry to hear about your friend. I mean, I think this is going to -- we talk about the physical impacts of these things, the post-traumatic stress, all of that. I mean, we will be talking about that for a long time to come.

LIEBERMAN: Yes. It definitely, you know, hits home. But I guess, as a trauma surgeon, I'm -- sort of on one hand, sort of like just another day. As sad as that might sound or callous, but you sort of have to have that attitude when you are a trauma surgeon because a lot of your patients just don't make it, and that's just a fact.

GUPTA: Howie, I know, it's -- it's -- you hear that. It's tough to let it settle in. Keep coming back and talking to us. Give us any updates. Thank you, Howie.

Brianna, that's a little bit of a picture of sort of how things are progressing on the ground here. I mean, that's why you have trauma surgeons. Because these -- we talk about these search-and-rescue missions but they are far more complicated and involved than people may initially realize. That's why people like Dr. Lieberman are here.

KEILAR: Yes. And it's so interesting to hear from the officials there who say, look, I know the situation looks completely devastating but with the way these floors, even though they pancake, the concrete shifts, there could be voids, and their hope is that there is someone alive, in one of them.

We are waiting now for another update from police on the scene of this disaster in the Miami area as this search for survivors is continuing.

BERMAN: And Joe Biden's signature-legislative victory, a bipartisan- infrastructure deal. It's not a victory, yet. The bill hasn't passed yet, but he did get a bipartisan compromise, which is something that a lot of people said couldn't happen. A top-cabinet official joins us next.

[07:25:0]

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BERMAN: President Biden announced he has a deal with a group of bipartisan senators on money for roads and bridges, public transit and broadband. And he stressed the importance of working together to get things done.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: In this deal, we made millions of good- paying jobs and fewer burdens felt at the kitchen table and across the country and safer and healthier communities. But it also signals to ourselves and to the world that American democracy can deliver. And because of that, it represents an important step forward for our country.

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BERMAN: Joining us, now, is the secretary of energy and a member of President Biden's so-called jobs cabinet, Jennifer Granholm. Governor, Secretary, thank you so much for being with us.

A bipartisan agreement of any kind in Washington is something to cheer. It happens so rarely, it seems, these days. But I want to understand some of the details here of how this is going to work. Because President Biden said yesterday that he won't sign this, he won't sign this if the bill is passed if it is the only thing that reaches his desk. [07:30:00]

In other words, unless there is this reconciliation bill, largely, passed by Democrats alone, that involves other funding. So, what does that mean?