Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
America Under Attack: Second Day Following Attack
Aired September 13, 2001 - 06:03 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.
VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: But back down to Earth and the scene from the destruction on lower Manhattan and we go back again to our colleague Garrick Utley who is with us in New York. He's been up for much of the night.
Garrick, again you'll see the sun rise from your vantage point and there is much to ponder here as we -- it seems like this day we start the grieving process. It seemed like it was anger and then shock and now many people are into this grief mode.
GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And indeed a mixture of grief and anger and anxiety and perhaps even fear as to what's going to come next.
But a moment ago, Vince and Carol, you were showing that scene from the satellite of lower Manhattan, the World Trade Center there and then suddenly gone, no longer there. And over my shoulder right here you can see the plume of smoke which has been there ever since those buildings collapsed. But something strange has happened this morning as the sun indeed is coming up or the light is coming up over the east side of Manhattan that not yet the sun, that plume of smoke is circling all the way around. The wind has shifted around the southern end of the island. Over my right shoulder, you may not be able to see it, all the way up here the east side. It's as if a shroud now is being wrapped around Manhattan Island. Again, nearly 48 hours after those two planes struck the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center.
Well, as the new day starts this Thursday, the papers are out and no surprise as to what they're offering the seven million people plus in New York City. This is "The New York Times." Again, a banner headline about the stunned rescuers working, the FBI tracking the hijackers' movements and wondering what's going to happen next. In the New York "Daily News," well, in bleak headlines, red letters, 10,000 Feared Dead and scenes of the rubble and the rescue workers. And finally, the city's other tabloid, "The New York Post," if I can control the wind right here, it doesn't have a headline. How about that, no headline. It does...
CELLINI: I might have a headline for you right here, Garrick.
UTLEY: It does have a picture, oh there you go, a picture of the American flag being raised there. Three firemen down at the site of the disaster and the quote "Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there." Indeed it is.
Also down there in lower Manhattan is Alessio Vinci who's standing by to give us the latest on the rescue efforts.
Good morning, Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Garrick.
Well, we were -- we've seen that picture from space of the -- of the -- of the big thick cloud of smoke still raising from the debris. We can provide you a picture close up here, the debris, the cloud -- I'm going to try to get out of the way here -- the big thick cloud here provoked by still smoldering metal and iron and we have seen some pocket of fire. I think the camera can zero in here a little bit, tilting up the camera a little bit, there is a little bit of fire here and there and obviously nothing compared to what the scene was here 24 hours ago. But still, as you can see from these pictures, not only there is still of smoke but also a few pockets of fires, and this, of course, making the work of the rescue officials -- rescue workers difficult and indeed very dangerous because, of course, it is extremely hot there still. It is still very difficult to work in that kind of environment. They have to use gas masks of course, the buildings all around there is also very unstable.
We have seen several refrigerator trucks getting closer to the area there. Obviously those refrigerator trucks will be used to take some of the body parts and the bodies back to the morgue.
CELLINI: Alessio, excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, this is Vince Cellini in Atlanta at our studios. We do want to pass this along and get back to you that we understand that after the FAA shut down of a couple of days ago, the airports are opening around New York. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark open on a limited basis for travel. So that is positive news as we -- as we try to regroup from this.
And now I will -- I will return to you, Alessio, so...
VINCI: Right.
CELLINI: ... thank you. Pardon my interruption for that news.
VINCI: Not at all, Vince.
On that note, we actually heard a couple of jets -- military jets flying overhead here several hours ago so certainly now we're going to perhaps start hearing a couple of commercial jets flying back into JFK and LaGuardia airport.
I was just telling you that we have seen earlier on some refrigerator trucks and also some dumpster trucks that were brought into the area. Obviously the refrigerator trucks to bring some of the body parts and the bodies back to the morgues and the dumpster truck to remove so far we understand more than 3,000 tons of debris that have been already collected on site and be brought away from the site to make some more room for the rescue operation. The mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deliver 6,000 body bags. This means that despite that the official count -- the last official count has 82 people dead and 16 of those -- of those 16 have been identified, they do expect more people once the rescue operation continues well now entering into its second day in about a few hours.
Back to you, Garrick.
UTLEY: Mentioned the airports will be opening on a limited basis, that means that those planes which were headed towards Kennedy or LaGuardia or Newark on Tuesday morning when the terrorists struck and were diverted, most of them to Canada, especially the international flights, those passengers have been waiting up there in Canada, unless they decided to come down in a rental car or by train, and now those passengers and only those flights will be allowed to come to the New York airport starting this morning. It's not expected to be later in the day or indeed tomorrow until further traffic -- air traffic is allowed into the New York City area.
Otherwise schools will be open, museums are open, Times Square is going to be filled because the Broadway shows are open. Life will be getting back to as nearly normal as it can be considering what's happening down there at the foot of Manhattan Island -- Vince and Carol.
CELLINI: All right. Thank you very much, Garrick Utley, as we are slowly creeping back to some signs of normalcy.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
