Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

Voyage Data Recorder Serves A Key Role In The Baltimore Bridge Collapse Investigation; Hamas Calls On Overseas Donors To Stop Parachuting Food Aid Into Gaza; Firefighters In Peru Try To Extinguish A Wildfire That's Been Endangering The Wetland In The Country's Western Region. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 27, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. Bianna is off today. You are watching "One

World". Right now, dozens of crash investigators are combing over the crippled container ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge on Tuesday.

The data recorder, or the so-called black box, has been recovered. That will be key to authorities learning more about what exactly happened here.

This ship, in terms of what we know so far, appeared to lose power and drifted into the bridge. One theory is that contaminated fuel may have led

to a power outage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We have a team of 24 investigators of various specialties. They are focused on

collecting the perishable evidence. Right now, it's getting what would disappear once this is cleaned up, and that is the focus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN obtained this close-up footage from right next to the ship. It shows that the anchor had been dropped in a last-ditch effort to stop the

ship's momentum. Divers are searching for the bodies of six construction workers right now who are presumed dead after they were thrown into the

water when the bridge came down. Mexico's President said that three Mexican nationals were on the bridge when it collapsed and that two of them are

still missing. The governor of Maryland says that he wants answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WES MOORE, MARYLAND GOVERNOR: We need to know exactly what happened. I think there needs to be a full reckoning, a full accountability, and I

think we need to go wherever the investigation takes us to make sure that the people of our jurisdictions are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, let's go straight now to CNN's Kristin Fisher with the latest on the investigation. So, Kristin, the key now is really the voyage

data recorder, right? The equivalent of an aircraft's black box. That is going to be key in terms of authorities trying to figure out what exactly

caused this crash. What sort of specific information will the NTSB be able to get from the black boxes?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they'll be able to get all sorts of information, the speed, the heading, the direction. And, you know, the

NTSB lead investigator said yesterday that, you know, we also are aware of the ship's lights flickering shortly before impact, indicative of a power

failure.

And, of course, there was that Mayday call to officials on or near the bridge from crew members on the ship saying, we've had a power failure. We

think we're going to crash into the bridge. But the NTSB is saying, look, we know all this, but we still have to confirm it. And so, that's one of

the key things that this black box or the voyage data recorder, as it's called on ships, will be able to do.

Zain, the other big thing that investigators with the NTSB are doing today is interviewing the people who were on board that ship when it slammed into

the key bridge. That, too, will be a really key indicator and will hopefully fill in some key holes about what exactly happened.

So, there is the ongoing investigation. There's also the investigation into the structural integrity of the bridge itself, even though the governor of

Maryland said yesterday that it was up to code. NTSB says they're still going to investigate that. So, you have all of these investigations.

But to be very clear, Zain, the top priority right now is still a recovery operation. We've moved from the rescue, the search and rescue phase, into

the recovery operation, which means that the Coast Guard and other officials are presumably, they believe that these six individuals have now

tragically died. And so, they're searching for their bodies in the water.

And that effort has been complicated today by the fact that the weather is not nearly as good as it was yesterday. They're dealing with choppy waters,

very windy conditions, and also quite a bit of rain. And then, as you can see on the right-hand side of your screen, just all of that mangled metal

that's in the water, divers are having to dodge that, as well.

So, yes, you have this investigation, multiple investigations ongoing. But at the moment, the focus at the scene continues to be on finding those six

construction workers who were just trying to repair some potholes on the bridge when that container ship struck around 1:30 A.M. Zain.

ASHER: Yeah, of course, our hearts go out to the family members of those six construction workers.

[12:05:00]

Kristin Fisher, live for us there. Thank you so much. Right. The pilot of the ship and the police are being praised for communicating quickly and

acting to stop traffic in the seconds before that collapse happened and even prevent a greater loss of life. Take a listen to this exchange here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: One of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side, hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching and

just lost their steering. So, to get that under control, we've got to stop all traffic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, let's get more now about the role that Baltimore's first responders played in all of this. Joining us live now is the city's fire

chief, James Wallace. Mr. Wallace, thank you so much for being with us.

So, the Mayday call on board the ship led to that radio exchange that we heard there. And as I understand it, there were just 90 seconds, right, 90

seconds for police to actually close traffic on that bridge on both sides.

Obviously, they weren't able to get to the crew members who are fixing potholes on the bridge on time. But still, the fact that they were able to

do all of that just in terms of shutting down the bridge and stopping traffic in just a minute and a half is remarkable.

JAMES WALLACE, BALTIMORE FIRE CHIEF: Yes, ma'am. Good afternoon. Thank you for having us. Yes, ma'am. As we learn more, we've learned those facts, as

well. And I would agree that that those efforts just to secure either end of the bridge likely did result in the saving of a lot of lives.

ASHER: And just in terms of the tragic news that we got last night, that search and rescue teams are now moving to the recovery phase. Obviously,

you know, you can't understate what the family members of the six construction crews who are on the bridge are going through right now,

waking up to devastating news or rather receiving devastating news yesterday.

But just talk us through what sort of conditions and really what the divers here, just in terms of trying to recover these bodies, are up against, just

in terms of the frigid temperatures and conditions outside right now.

WALLACE: Yes, ma'am. So, the water right now still remains in the 40-degree range, 40 -- 47 degree range, which is extraordinarily cold for divers. Air

temperature here today is a little bit warmer, but we, as was previously reported, the winds have begun to increase and we just had a heavy band of

rain move through.

So, we have really dynamic weather conditions that our divers are up against. The other challenges that we have is once our divers go

subsurface. So, once they go below the surface of the water, with increased depth comes decreased visibility. And, you know, that's an equation that we

deal with all the time, especially in this type of an environment.

But now we add to that equation, just the massive amounts of debris that are below the surface. You know, I had said earlier, what a lot of viewers

see is above the surface is the same kind of challenges that our divers have to deal below the surface. The difference being our divers can't

always see those obstacles.

So, we have to be very slow and methodical and above all else, safe. We're using different sonar technologies to help guide our operation. But

overall, it's a very large operation and one that involves many different dive teams that to this point has been very well coordinated.

ASHER: Yeah, I mean, this is a risky challenge, a risky endeavor for the divers, as well. That is why they can only be in the water for a limited

amount of time at any given moment. Just walk us through what the next steps are. Obviously, the priority right now is, of course, the recovery.

As I understand it, the NTSB has the black boxes on the vessel.

On top of that, they're going to be interviewing the crew members. On top of that, they're also going to be examining the vessel. And then I imagine

the priority will shift to towing this vessel, right? Towing the vessel out of this part of the water, also trying to remove the mangled metal from the

river, as well. What can you tell us about that stage? When will all of that begin to happen?

WALLACE: So, I don't have a timeline. There's so many different agencies involved, as you said, NTSB. We have the Army Corps of Engineers here.

We're very much focused as a fire department and other fire departments that are here working with us. We're still very focused on finding the

victims. It's very important to us because it's very important to the families.

We need to find these victims. We need to bring closure to the families. And as emergency divers, we focus on rescue and recovery, not so much

salvage and those type of operations. So, my teams and the ones that are out there working with my teams remain very focused on attempting to locate

victims.

[12:10:00]

ASHER: Right. And as you point out, there are so many different agencies involved in this and your team is focused on recovery at this point. As you

say, it's important that the families have closure, especially when you think about just the scale of this unimaginable tragedy. We have to leave

it there. Chief James Wallace of the Baltimore Fire Department, we appreciate you joining us.

All right, the movement of ships in and out of the port of Baltimore is now indefinitely on hold. As you just heard from the fire chief, recovery teams

face very challenging conditions, including the extremely cold temperatures in the water right now, the moving tide and many tons of metal debris from

the collision.

The collapse of the key bridge has also severed a road link that's normally used by tens of thousands of vehicles every single day. U.S. Transportation

Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to CNN earlier. He said getting the port back open and the bridge back up and running would, of course, be far from

simple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The impact of this incident is going to be felt throughout the region and really throughout our supply

chains. We're talking about the biggest vehicle handling port in the country that is now out of commission until that channel can be cleared and

a bridge that took five years to build.

The President's been very clear that every federal resource will be directed toward getting back to normal, both for the traffic that counts on

the bridge and the supply chains that count on that port. But this is going to be a big, long and not inexpensive road to recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, let's get straight to CNN's Matt Egan. So Matt, as Secretary was just pointing out there, the closure of this waterway really

impacts the arrival and the departure of both foreign and domestic cargo vessels. Just give us a bit more specifics, right? Secretary there was just

speaking in generality. Just give us more specific in terms of the impacts on local supply chains and on the shortage of goods, as well.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Zain, this disaster has really delivered a major blow to the local economy in Baltimore. I mean, the port of Baltimore

has been crippled and this is a major employer. We're talking about 15,000 people directly employed by this port, another 140,000 in related services.

Now, these workers are facing the risk that their hours are going to be cut. They could be temporarily laid off. And Baltimore is one of the

busiest ports in the nation. It's the number one port when it comes to sugar imports. It's number two for exporting coal. It's also a leading port

for farm and construction machinery -- machinery imports and then autos.

That's huge. Eight hundred and fifty thousand vehicles last year alone went through this port. And we're hearing from some major companies that are

saying they're at least monitoring what's going on. They're going through some contingency planning. Auto companies like GM and Stellantis, Ford. We

know that Under Armor, Amazon, they all have a presence there.

And Carnival Cruise, they're moving some of their cruise ships to Virginia. And then Domino Sugar is another big one. They have a refinery, a sugarcane

refinery in the Baltimore Harbor. It's really a landmark there, but it's also the biggest sugarcane refinery in the Western Hemisphere. So, Zain, we

are going to keep a close eye here because we learned during Covid that when something breaks in a supply chain, there really can be ripple effects

everywhere.

ASHER: We certainly did. Just thinking about those workers, the 15,000 workers that depend on that port that you spoke about, I mean, hopefully

there will be monetary and financial support for them and their hours do not get cut. All right, Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Zain.

ASHER: The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in the 1970s when cargo ships the size of Dali did not exist. And some people are raising questions over

previous issues with the ship and the company that manages it. Ivan Watson takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The container ship that slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge is a Singaporean owned and

operated vessel called the Dali. It's just under 300 meters long. That's under a thousand feet and had a crew of 21 Indian nationals on board at the

time of the deadly accident.

For those of you who've never gotten close to one of these ships before, take a look over here. This is a container ship, maybe 70 meters longer

than the Dali, moored here in the port of Hong Kong, stacked high with containers. The Dali's operators say that that vessel has a capacity of up

to 10,000 containers like this, and it was carrying more than 4700 at the time of the collision.

Now, the investigators, they're going to be looking closely at the Dali's safety record. In September of last year, the U.S. Coast Guard inspected

it, found no problems. But in June of 2023, authorities in Chile, they did find a problem aboard the Dali's.

[12:15:00]

They said it was a deficiency involving propulsion and auxiliary machinery gauges and thermometers. Why could that be important? Well, the Singaporean

operating company, Synergy Marine, in its statement, it says that the Dali's crew reported a momentary loss of propulsion shortly before the

collision where the ship lost control. That could be a link that investigators will look at.

I want to give you some more sense of scale here. Here's another container ship. It's about 100 meters longer than the Dali. The world's trade relies

on ships like this moving your goods to ports that ultimately you get those goods in your home.

And right next to it is Hong Kong's Stonecutters Bridge. Now, these ships are operated by other companies, not the same as the Dali, but it gives you

a sense of the scale. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was constructed in the late 70s, and industry experts tell me that ships like this and the Dali

simply did not exist when the Key Bridge was constructed.

They were not building ships of this scale and size then. And this may be a new reality that people have to come to grips with. Case in point, just

last month, up the Pearl River from where I am right now, there was another deadly collision involving a ship and a bridge, a ship hitting a bridge in

the Chinese city of Guangzhou, bringing down part of that bridge, at least five people dying as vehicles then plummeted off that span of bridge.

Chinese officials say that the crew was at fault for that deadly accident. It is potentially a new kind of threat and security issue that authorities

around the world may have to come to grips with, given what just happened in Baltimore. Ivan Watson, CNN, in the port of Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, still to come here, unending grief in Kenya as families wait for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned to them. The latest

on the starvation cult killings just ahead. Plus, rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs is fighting back after U.S. federal agents raided his homes. What his

lawyers are saying about the investigation. And we're following a new report with a grim update on the climate crisis. We'll speak to an author

of that study later on this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Nearly a year after it emerged that a doomsday cult in Kenya had encountered hundreds or rather encouraged hundreds of people to starve

themselves to death. Authorities have begun returning the victims' remains to their families. Their bodies were recovered from mass graves in the

south of the country. They were victims of a Christian cult whose leader convinced them to starve themselves to reach salvation.

Forensic experts and volunteers have been exhuming bodies for months. They warn there are likely more horrors to come. CNN Senior International

Correspondent David McKenzie has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Zain, it's a harrowing and somber week in Kenya as family members accept the remains of

victims of a Christian death cult that's become known as the Shakahola Massacre. Only 34 remains have been linked by DNA to family members of the

more than 400 victims that have been exhumed from this vast commune in the Shakahola forest on the coast of Kenya.

FRANCIS WANJE, FAMILY MEMBER OF VICTIMS: It has been a very tough journey from last year up to now, a very tough one. Fortunately, I'm saying I'm

happy that I've got the loved ones. Now, we are preparing to go and bury so that now we can start another journey of forgetting about this.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Pastor Paul Nthenge McKenzie has been charged, along with his associates, with the murder of more than 190 children, as well as

other serious charges. He's alleged to have lured hundreds of followers to the Shakahola forest, saying it was the end of days, calling on them to

starve themselves to seek salvation. He's denied all of those charges. There are going to be at least one more round of exhumations at that

forest.

IRUNGU HOUGHTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL KENYA: Four hundred and twenty nine bodies have been identified so far with the phase

five exhumation that's about to happen. We suspect that that number may go up by several hundreds. If we put those figures together, this single

massacre, this mass crime probably has combined more deaths than several terrorist attacks that we've seen.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The Kenyan government has been heavily criticized for their lack of action as rumors and reports came out from the community

about the terrible events occurring in the Shakahola forest. The government has already apologized for its lack of action, but it's unclear still how

bad this massacre will turn out when all of the bodies are recovered. Zain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: We are learning new details involving rap mogul Sean Diddy Combs' legal situation, a source close to Combs says the rapper was headed for a

spring break vacation with his twin daughters when he was briefly stopped by law enforcement in Miami on Monday. Diddy's homes in L.A. and in Miami

was searched by agents from a unit of the Department of Homeland Security that looks into human trafficking crimes.

Combs' lawyer speaking out for the first time about all of this, saying the unprecedented ambush paired with an advanced coordinated media presence

leads to a premature rush to judge Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt. For more on this, I want to bring in Attorney and Legal Affairs

Commentator Areva Martin. Areva, thank you so much for being with us.

The fact that his homes were raided in this way, the fact that Diddy was briefly interviewed, I guess, at the airport when he was about to board his

private plane, the fact that his two sons were briefly again not arrested but detained outside his home, as well. And you sort of you've seen the

images, of course.

There are multiple police units. There are choppers overhead. Does all of this tell you that law enforcement have anything on him, anything concrete

on him beyond what we've seen in the civil lawsuits?

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIES COMMENTATOR: What it does tell us, Zain, is that the law enforcement agents were able to put together a

declaration, a document and present it to a magistrate judge, demonstrating that there was evidence in those homes and perhaps on the personal devices

on his body that could lead to a further criminal investigation and potentially criminal charges.

There's a pretty high standard that law enforcement has to meet before they can get the kind of search warrants that they apparently had to execute on

yesterday. So, we do know that this is no longer just a civil matter, that apparently there is a criminal investigation occurring. We've heard about

witnesses being interviewed in New York.

And again, to get the kind of search warrants that we saw executed yesterday, a judge had to look at some documentation and be convinced that

there would be evidence found in his homes or in his personal body with those items taken away from him at the airport that could lead to a further

investigation or perhaps even criminal charges.

[12:25:00]

ASHER: And so, just in terms of assuming, you know, they do have something concrete, obviously you mentioned the bar is very high for a search warrant

of this magnitude. If they do have something concrete on him, what are the next steps that we're going to see unfold here?

MARTIN: Well, a couple of things. One, we've seen that law enforcement itself has been criticized for the militarized response that we saw, the

tanks and some of the heavy artillery that was used with regards to the search. So, as much as Diddy has been criticized, we now are seeing some

backlash to law enforcement.

But in terms of what's next from a legal standpoint, if these witnesses that are apparently being interviewed by law enforcement in New York, if

they provide testimony that, you know, law enforcement or the district attorney or the U.S. attorney believes rises to the level of constituting

some kind of criminal activity, we may see indictments. We may see criminal charges. We may see a prosecution.

Some of the allegations in the civil suits, as you know, are very horrifying. Allegations of rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking. Very,

very serious allegations. And apparently now, not just in civil courts being investigated by law enforcement.

ASHER: And if you could just sort of give us a bit more detail about what is in these lawsuits. Because, of course, we had the civil lawsuit filed by

Cassie, obviously, in some circles, a household name in America. And that was obviously very high profile because he settled with her the next day.

They came to an arrangement literally the next day. Just give us more context in terms of the specifics, because as you mentioned, these are

very, very serious allegations here.

MARTIN: Right. The initial lawsuit that I think started the inquiries that we're seeing now -- Cassandra Ventura, Cassie, as she's well known as a

singer, she alleged that Diddy -- Sean Combs, would fly men in from various states and force her to have sex with them while he watched. She alleged

that he brutalized her, that he often would kick and hit her and that he actually did sexually assault her.

So, those are the allegations -- the serious allegations in her civil complaint. She said that she was groomed, that he, you know, lured her in,

gave her alcohol and drugs. And then following that complaint from Cassie, there was another complaint by an anonymous woman who said that she was sex

trafficked at the age of 17, that she was lured to his home to have sex with other men, that she was given drugs and alcohol.

And we just see this same pattern being repeated in multiple complaints. And the most recent one is from a male producer who said he worked with

Sean Combs as recently as July of 2023. He recently amended his complaint to say not only did Sean Combs sexually assault him, but that Cuba Gooding

Jr. also touched him, groped him and sexually assaulted him on a yacht that's owned by Sean Combs.

That complaint by this male producer also alleges that Sean Combs and his son perhaps were involved in a shooting where another individual was shot

by one of them, Sean Combs or his son. And there was a cover up of that shooting.

So, there again in these four complaints that have been filed to date, very salacious and just horrifying allegations of sexual assault, rape and

underage girls. I think, Zain, we cannot emphasize enough that one of the complaints talks about -- this producer, Jones, talks about underage girls

being brought into Sean Combs' home, being given alcohol and drugs and having sex with adult men.

ASHER: I mean, if true, these allegations are the stuff of nightmares, unbelievable, if true, what Cassie had to endure and the others who filed

suits, as well. All right, Areva Martin, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, the camera he set up seven years ago

recorded that shocking video of the bridge collapse seen around the world. You'll get his perspective when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World", I'm Zain Asher. I want to return now to our top story. Despite bad weather in Baltimore, recovery

efforts continue one day after that devastating collapse of the Key Bridge. Divers are looking for the six construction workers who were working on the

bridge on Tuesday. That's when a cargo ship appeared to lose power, veer off course and then crashed into the bridge, plunging the workers into the

river below.

Maryland's governor says the divers are dealing with a treacherous situation, really difficult conditions right now, including very cold

temperatures and mangled metal in the water below. Investigators have boarded that ship. And they have recovered its data recorder to a Baltimore

ship watcher captured the video of the bridge collapsing, which was, of course, seen all around the world. He told his story to reporter Jamie

Costello.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE SINGER, BALTIMORE AND CHESAPEAKE BAY SHIP WATCHERS: I'll talk about it right now.

JAMIE COSTELLO, REPORTER (voice-over): Seven years ago, Mike started Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay Ship Watchers. He has one camera focused on

the Key Bridge streaming live 24-7. And this is the video going around the world.

SINGER: There are actually what are called dolphins, the giant cement pillars that are supposed to protect the ship. We're supposed to protect

this bridge from ships. There's four of them out there. They're huge. They're as big as cars. Obviously, it didn't work today. Unbelievable.

COSTELLO (voice-over): It's one thing to see it on video and on your social media pages, but to see it in person, you want to look and then turn away.

SINGER: Just can't believe it. You know, it's been there. You thought it would always be there.

COSTELLO (voice-over): It's like going down the Alameda and not seeing the lights from Memorial Stadium or the checkerboard tower missing at East

Point. The Key Bridge is gone.

SINGER: It's just -- it's not my hometown.

[12:35:00]

It's not what, you know, that bridge is iconic -- the Baltimore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right, we're learning a little bit more about some of the six construction workers now presumed dead. Mexico's President says that two

Mexican nationals are among those who are missing while the other one is injured but safe.

Another of the missing include this man, Miguel Luna, was an immigrant and father of three from El Salvador, who lived in Maryland for nearly two

decades. Also missing, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, who was a father of two, married as well. His brother says Sandoval had come to the U.S. from

Honduras 18 years ago in search for a better life. The missing also include workers from Guatemala, as well. CNN's Maria Santana joins us live now from

Baltimore with details on the victims.

So, Maria, as I understand it, there were eight construction workers who were sort of fixing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed. Two survived.

And then, of course, we know that six fell into the water. What could you tell us just in terms of details you're gleaning about the other six who

are now sadly presumed dead?

MARIA SANTANA, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, how are you, Zain? And, you know, this has been the most difficult part of this

coverage is getting to know who these people were speaking with their families. And I have spoken to two brothers of Maynor Suazo Sandoval. This

is the worker from Honduras. According to his brothers, he was working on the bridge laying asphalt when it collapsed. They found out a few hours

later that their brother was missing.

And incredibly enough, I spoke to his brother, Carlos Suazo Sandoval, here in Baltimore just a couple of hours ago. And he said that the family is

still holding out a hope that they believe that God can create a miracle for them and that their brother would be found alive.

Of course, that is not what the authorities are saying. The Coast Guard basically suspended their search and rescue operation. This is now a search

and recovery operation because they don't believe that anybody is going to be found alive. He is the youngest of eight siblings, three of which live

here in the United States. The rest of the family is in Honduras.

His mother is 72 years old and they have not told her yet what has happened. She suspects that something is wrong, said Carlos Suazo, but they

just have not found a way to let his mother know that their son is possibly dead in this very, very tragic incident.

We also spoke with someone who knew Miguel Luna. Miguel Luna is from El Salvador. He is the father of three children. And I spoke to a gentleman

who said he was a regular customer of a Salvadorian food truck that Miguel Luna and his wife had here in Baltimore, in their neighborhood, and that he

thought it was very strange when he showed up Tuesday morning and the food truck was closed.

He thought that the family had maybe gone on vacation and that then was when he found out later on that Miguel was actually on the bridge and that

he was now missing. He said that there were you know, that they were a very good family, that Miguel was just always very friendly.

And as you said, the foreign ministry in Guatemala has confirmed that a 26- year-old and 35-year olds of their citizens, that they are also victims. And the Mexican President confirming that also two Mexican nationals. These

were people that were an integral part of this community. As you can see, many of them living here for a very, very long time. Zain.

ASHER: It's heartbreaking. All right, Maria Santana, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right. Hamas is now calling on overseas donors to

stop parachuting food aid into Gaza. The airdrops have become controversial and actually, in some cases, even deadly.

Palestinian paramedics say that at least 12 people drowned on Monday as they tried to retrieve aid parcels that fell into the sea. CNN's Jomana

Karadsheh has details. But I want to warn you that her story does contain very graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As they spot a plane and the aid it begins to drop, they run as fast as they can. It's the rush of a

people so desperate, so hungry, who would do anything to feed their children, now on the brink of starvation.

This is what survival in Gaza has come to, fighting for food, that little bit of aid that makes it into the north, where man-made famine now looms.

People chase parachutes that fell into these choppy waters. It is desperation that drives them into the sea. What you're about to see next is

disturbing.

[12:40:00]

It's the reality of a war growing more cruel by the day. The fastest, the fittest, emerged with boxes of American-issued meals ready to eat. Others

didn't make it out alive. People gather around the thin, frail body of a man who drowned trying to reach that aid. Twelve people drowned, according

to paramedics.

ABU HAMAD, U.S. AID RECIPIENT: The parachutes fell into the water, Abu Hamad says. But people went to eat. They went into the water and drowned.

The current was so strong, they didn't know how to swim. It's what you do when you have nothing left to lose.

UNKNOWN: A man goes in swimming to get food for his children. He returns dead, this man says. Bring us aid through the land crossings. Our children

are dying. We are dying. What are you doing? Where is the world?

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The world has been piling up life-saving aid into trucks stuck at land crossings. Seemingly powerless in the face of Israel

that's accused of using starvation as a weapon in this war, a charge it denies, forcing the International Community to resort to dropping aid from

the sky. Several countries carried out aid drops on this day, deliveries that have been criticized for being ineffective, insufficient and unsafe.

Earlier this month, another airdrop disaster when a parachute failed and aid packages came crashing down, killing at least five people. It's a war

that's testing humanity, and many say this is what failure looks like. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Township economies across Africa are booming. In South Africa, nearly half the population lives in townships. That makes the informal

market integral to economic growth and job creation. This month, "Africa Insider" meets the e-commerce platform Yebo Fresh, which is using smart

tech to support township entrepreneurs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA MURIMA, HEAD OF ENGAGEMENT AND INVESTOR RELATIONS BRITER BRIDGES: Trade in Africa is largely informal, and this has created an opportunity

for digital innovators to build products and solutions to serve, say, you know, traders and consumers who are trying to access critical goods and

services.

[12:45:00]

JESSICA BOONSTRA, FOUNDER AND CEO, YEBO FRESH: What is unique about the township market is that it is a very vibrant market filled with people who

are doing amazing things with very, very little means. It is a very young market that is growing very quickly. And for me, it is actually the engine

of the South African economy. We built our technology and our solutions around what the market needs. I believe that this is the future of the

continent.

My name is Jessica Boonstra and I'm the founder and CEO of Yebo Fresh. Yebo Fresh is a business-to-business marketplace operating in South Africa's

townships. Yebo Fresh started about five years ago, literally in my garage.

And it was born from the observation that on one hand, the township market is absolutely massive and growing faster than the formal market. On the

other hand, it's still severely underserved from an e-commerce perspective, with many parties thinking that it is too poor, too dangerous and too

difficult to operate in.

So, the problem that we're solving is that of a typical business owner like Zuzi having to close her shop and travel to a wholesaler, spending many

hours shopping and then having to negotiate a deal with the driver, taking her back with her goods. Instead, we offer a simple order-to-delivery

solution that allows her to place her order via WhatsApp and get her goods delivered 24 hours later.

We've seen bursts of tremendous growth, so starting from literally a garage setup with three, four people to where we are now today, a fantastic team

of about 50 people. We operate in 25 townships and we serve about 8000 business owners. So, that, for me, is a testimony that there is a market

for what we're doing. There's demand for what we're doing and we want to be growing much faster in the future.

We want to be the leading business-to-business marketplace in Greater Sub- Saharan Africa. What we're doing in South Africa, the problem that we're solving here, also exists in Botswana, Namibia and many, many of our

neighboring countries. And there's a massive, massive gap in service delivery there, as well.

So, we have got ambitions to take our concept across the borders and into many, many more areas. And most importantly, we see that this digital

revolution is happening right now and that the pull is there from the market and we want to be the ones to give that revolution a little push.

VOICE-OVER: "Africa Insider", in association with Zenith Bank.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Firefighters in Peru are trying to extinguish a wildfire that's been endangering the wetland in the country's western region. The blaze began on

Saturday and authorities say the area's difficult terrain is causing serious challenges to extinguishing the flames.

[12:50:00]

Wildlife's fires, or wildfires, rather, are also impacting Mexico. Flames have been spreading through the eastern state of Vera Cruz, but officials

say population centers are currently not at risk and there's no need for residents at this point to evacuate.

Right, the rapid melting of polar ice may be messing with time itself. That's according to a new climate change study. It found that the speed of

the polar ice melt is affecting how fast the world is spinning. And since days, hours and minutes are geared to the Earth's rotation, this, of

course, has consequences for global timekeeping.

The accepted way to keep official clocks in harmony with the Earth is the periodic use of so-called leap seconds. But the study says because of

climate change, the next tweak to the fabric of time will now take place years later than it otherwise would. Joining us live now is the author of

this brand new study, Duncan Agnew. He's Professor Emeritus with the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at the University of

California, San Diego.

Duncan, thank you so much for being with us. The fact that the poles sort of melting is sort of wreaking havoc with the rotation of the Earth itself.

And that is affecting time, literally timekeeping. That is something very hard to wrap your head around. But just give us your thoughts on this. Just

explain to us how exactly -- how exactly the study worked and what the main results of the study actually were.

DUNCAN AGNEW, AUTHOR, CLIMATE POLAR ICING STUDY: Well, one result is that, again, global warming has caused a massive amount of melting of ice from

Greenland and Alaska that spreads out over the whole ocean and that changes the rotation rate of the Earth. It slows it down.

Now, the Earth in general has been speeding up because of other effects, and that would cause us to have to have what's called a negative leap

second, which has never happened before. If we had not had this ice melt, then we'd be very close to the leap second. As it is, we're further away. I

don't want to argue that this is a positive effect of global warming.

The negative effects are so massive that this is just a small change. But I think it's surprising and interesting that the signal we're seeing is

unprecedented and simply says global warming is unprecedented and is affecting not just certain things, but the entire Earth, the whole rotation

of the Earth.

ASHER: That is unbelievable. The fact that global warming is literally impacting time itself is, again, as I said before, just really difficult to

wrap your head around. And as you point out, all of the effects of global warming are unprecedented, not just this one. But just explain to us what

the sort of consequences are of the negative leap second, as you point out in the study.

AGNEW: So, a negative leap second is when the timekeepers of the world, which is the time we get on our phones or any other way, decide that there

will be a minute at a certain time where there will only be 59 seconds. We've had many of these where there have been 61 seconds.

The problem is each time that it becomes more and more difficult to make sure that all computer networks are properly synchronized, that everybody

does this correctly and at the same time. And since we've never had a negative leap second before, there's a lot of concern that it would not be

done properly.

Now, a second doesn't sound like much, but for the financial markets, they time things to a fiftieth of a second. Lots of things depend on very

precise timing. And so, there's concern about the possibility of a negative leap second. And I think there is a good possibility that there will be

one.

ASHER: Duncan Agnew, live for us there. Thank you so much. And finally, the infamous Titanic door that has sparked decades of cinematic debate has been

auctioned for more than $700,000. You'll, of course, remember this moment. Hopefully we do have video here. The one that made many of us questioned

whether both Jack and Rose could have survived if it wasn't for the size of the floating door. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE, CHARACTER IN THE FILM "TITANIC": Come back. I'll never let go. I promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: One of the most iconic moments in film history. Well, to test whether Jack's sacrifice was in vain, Titanic's Director, James Cameron,

conducted an experiment and contrary to beliefs of passionate movie fanatics, science proved Jack had to let go. The lucky auction winner will

be able to challenge this theory if they wish.

[12:55:00]

All right, that does it for this hour of "One World". I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. Amanpour is up next. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END