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CNN Live Sunday
Small Italian Town Buries 26 Children Killed During Earthquake
Aired November 03, 2002 - 18:46 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Residents of a small Italian town gathered today for a heartbreaking mass funeral for 26 children and three adults, all killed during an earthquake last week. The quake crushed the town's elementary school. CNN's Chris Burns reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The names of the 26 students, a generation of villager in the first grade, crushed to death in their classroom. Along the line of coffins, a note on Martina's (ph) wreath says, "There is one more angel in paradise."
The families, homeless from the quake that shattered the schoolhouse, now together in a mass funeral many here feel could have been avoided.
A bishop offers the families comfort. He prays that the children find peace and salvation. A priest reads a message from hospitalized classmates pulled out of the rubble, and recovering from their wounds.
"You will always be in our hearts," they say, "we will never forget all of you."
Along with the intense sadness, bitterness simmers underneath over how the school was one of the few buildings in town that collapsed.
On Nelly's (ph) coffin, a note saying, "Justice didn't move fast enough."
As President Carlo Ciampi and other top officials look on, the bishop gently but firmly demands action.
"Always help us to be vigilant," he says, "so that this tragedy doesn't happen. To prevent it, because such a terrible experience should never be repeated."
A mother whose son, Luigi (ph), lay in one of the coffins, puts it in more emotional terms. "I would like our schools to be safer," she says, "so no other mother or father, no one has to cry for the loss of their children."
Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into who may be to blame for the collapse of the school, where a second floor of classrooms was added just last year, three years after officials determined the region was a quake-prone zone, but failed to enforce earthquake safety.
During the funeral, the Italian Cabinet, meeting in Rome, earmarked $50 million in emergency aid, and called for a check of all schools in the region.
(on camera): In coping with their grief, parents here hope their children's death will save other lives, that officials will finally crack down on schools that aren't earthquake safe before there's another funeral like this one.
Chris Burns, CNN, San Juliano Dipulia (ph), Italy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Earthquake>
Aired November 3, 2002 - 18:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Residents of a small Italian town gathered today for a heartbreaking mass funeral for 26 children and three adults, all killed during an earthquake last week. The quake crushed the town's elementary school. CNN's Chris Burns reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The names of the 26 students, a generation of villager in the first grade, crushed to death in their classroom. Along the line of coffins, a note on Martina's (ph) wreath says, "There is one more angel in paradise."
The families, homeless from the quake that shattered the schoolhouse, now together in a mass funeral many here feel could have been avoided.
A bishop offers the families comfort. He prays that the children find peace and salvation. A priest reads a message from hospitalized classmates pulled out of the rubble, and recovering from their wounds.
"You will always be in our hearts," they say, "we will never forget all of you."
Along with the intense sadness, bitterness simmers underneath over how the school was one of the few buildings in town that collapsed.
On Nelly's (ph) coffin, a note saying, "Justice didn't move fast enough."
As President Carlo Ciampi and other top officials look on, the bishop gently but firmly demands action.
"Always help us to be vigilant," he says, "so that this tragedy doesn't happen. To prevent it, because such a terrible experience should never be repeated."
A mother whose son, Luigi (ph), lay in one of the coffins, puts it in more emotional terms. "I would like our schools to be safer," she says, "so no other mother or father, no one has to cry for the loss of their children."
Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into who may be to blame for the collapse of the school, where a second floor of classrooms was added just last year, three years after officials determined the region was a quake-prone zone, but failed to enforce earthquake safety.
During the funeral, the Italian Cabinet, meeting in Rome, earmarked $50 million in emergency aid, and called for a check of all schools in the region.
(on camera): In coping with their grief, parents here hope their children's death will save other lives, that officials will finally crack down on schools that aren't earthquake safe before there's another funeral like this one.
Chris Burns, CNN, San Juliano Dipulia (ph), Italy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Earthquake>
