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CNN Sunday Morning

America's New War: Rescue Operations Continue

Aired September 30, 2001 - 07:42   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In New York City, the around-the-clock rescue operation continues. And the mayor, this weekend, indicating that cleanup could take up to a year's time. Down at Ground Zero this morning, CNN's Michael Okwu watching things for us.

Michael, good morning.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good morning to you. know, the word that I use is "haunting" because that's what it feels like every morning and every day. This place looks more and more like the ruins, which is exactly what the residents here were calling it early on. But as the smoke continues to rise, you can see it rising behind me, you are reminded about the fact that this is in fact, Ground Zero, the epicenter of an attack.

As you watch the heavy cranes that have been moved in here, let me remind our viewers that the death toll has risen to 309, between 4,642 and 5,641 people are missing. On the books, this is still a rescue mission but no one is expecting miracles anymore. Most of the people around here are taking stock. And just uptown from here, so many people are taking in the view from the tallest building now, in New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU (voice-over): In the distance, the smoke continues to rise. A shrive covering more than 5,000 lost lives. That's the view from the most recognizable and once again, the tallest building in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it symbolizes New York now, after September 11.

OKWU: The Empire State Building reopened to the public this weekend, 18 days after it had been evacuated because of the terrorist attacks. A bomb scare followed the night after. More than 3.5 million visitors come every year. On this day, they came because they were curious, because they were nostalgic and they were proud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, this is New York, man. It's solid, right? You know, it's like America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a view of the city and it's also a national... UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A symbol of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone is definitely just looking south and taking a lot of pictures and being really calm and looking at each other.

OKWU: Before, to look and think of the Empire State was to recall "An Affair To Remember," what you would call a time when the most dangerous outside threat came from King Kong.

Today, additional metal detectors have been placed on the ground floor. Armed police officers are on 24-hour guard. Barriers prevent vehicles from stopping in front of the building.

But its stature did attract rare misfortune in the past. In 1945, a B-25 bomber killed 14 people when it plowed into the 79th floor after losing its way in a dense fog. And in 1997, a Palestinian gunman killed a tourist, wounded six others and turned the gun on himself just after declaring his love for America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Until this weekend, the only people allowed on that deck were those who were taken on VIP tours. And for the better part of two weeks, those people tended to be rescue workers. I was there several weeks ago when a team of rescue workers arrived. They walked on each side of the building, on each exposure until they got to the southern end, which used to have a clear, commanding view of the twin towers. They stopped, they paused...

(AUDIO GAP)

HEMMER: We apologize for that. Michael Okwu just a few blocks from us here. Clearly, we had a bit of difficulty there with the satellite signal above. But Michael, we apologize. We'll be back in touch again on Ground Zero later in the morning.

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