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Morning News

USS Cole Attacked: 17 Sailors Believed Dead; Bodies Flown to Germany, Djibouti; Family Notification Still Under Way

Aired October 13, 2000 - 9:12 a.m. ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And to our other big story of the day, the apparent terrorist attack on the USS Cole. We go to our Matthew Chance, now, who is overlooking the Gulf of Aden, where that attack took place yesterday.

Matthew, what can you tell us about the number of casualties, as the U.S. Navy now sees it?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Between last hour, Daryn, those casualty figures have been updated by the U.S. Navy. They are now saying that as many as 17 people are believed to be dead. Seven of them confirmed U.S. servicemen, another 10 who are missing are now said to be presumed dead. Thirty-five others injured, were injured in the attack, which happened on Thursday. Twenty-two of them, we've been told, within the last hour, now, have been boarded onto a U.S. military transport plane and are being flown pack to U.S. military medical facilities in Germany.

Well, it's also emerged that, according to eyewitnesses, two people were seen on Thursday at about midday standing on the boat to attention on that small boat packed with explosives as it approached the U.S. destroyer before it exploded. That from an eyewitness on the ship. Now, given that, though, the U.S. still says it hasn't determined whether this was a deliberate accident because it has launched an intensive investigation into exactly what happened, exactly who is responsible for all of the damage to the ship.

Looking at the ship in the water, back from where I am standing now, it's been very terribly damaged by the explosion. A gaping hole in the port side some 40 feet across in some places. It's also leaning to one side quite heavily, although, the U.S. authorities say they've prevented it from actually sinking. As I say, though, they are determined. The U.S. authorities on the ground here are saying that they will get to the bottom of this, saying they'll find out who is responsible for the damage and indeed for all the bloodshed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And we do want to explain viewers that we're using a type of technology called video phone and that explains, Matthew, why your picture looks like the way it does to our viewers back here in the U.S.

One more question for you. What is going to happen to the ship? are they going to leave where it is? or are they going to move it?

CHANCE: Well, what they are saying is that at the moment they're just engaged in an operation to try and get the water out of the hull that was penetrated once that blast ripped through the steel outer coating. Once they got that water out of the hull to a sufficient level, they are going to engage in repairs to get it tugged into a port, so then they build it back up, repair it to a standard, so that is can eventually be towed back to the United States. That's what they are telling us here on the ground -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew, can you tell us a little bit more about the investigation? Is this going to be a cooperative effort between Yemeni and American officials?

CHANCE: That's right. I mean, the U.S. Navy are telling us they asked Yemeni officials to help them out with their security, and indeed Yemeni officials do appear to be providing very tight security on the streets of Aden where I am now. There are checkpoints almost on every street corner. The hotel in which we are staying has become a center of U.S. military activity. A number of U.S. Marines, the actual figure won't be disclosed to us, have moved into the hotel and taken over three floors of the hotel in the center of the town, in preparation for a much larger investigation, a much larger operation which will involve members of the FBI flying in from the United States to get back to that ship, to look at the area very carefully, to explore all the possibilities and to establish who exactly is responsible for causing the damage and the bloodshed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew Chance reporting to us via video phone from Yemen.

Thank you -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Daryn, once again, it's a very sensitive time for a number of U.S. families still awaiting word for their sons or daughters or brothers and sisters on board the USS Cole and the fate U.S. sailors. To say it's a difficult time would be an understatement.

Let's go to the Ramstein Air Base now in Germany, where CNN's Chris Burns is standing by way of telephone now.

And Chris, it's our understanding that a number of the dead and the injured also could come to that air base. What are you hearing from U.S. officials there?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's correct, Bill, a very solemn ceremony up ahead in about two hours when a C-17 transport plane is going to be carrying the bodies of five U.S. sailors from the USS Cole from Bahrain, a U.S. base in Bahrain over here to Ramstein. They will be honored by an honor guard ceremony, stay overnight and then be flown on to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware tomorrow.

We're also awaiting the injured, 22 injured, are to arrive around midnight tonight here, local time, and be taken over nearby to Landstuhl medical hospital at the U.S. military hospital. We'll be waiting for that later today. Eleven other injured sailors are staying at a French military hospital in Djibouti. They're being cared for over there for right now -- Bill.

HEMMER: Chris, do you have an update on U.S. Naval notification for the families? Has that process been completed yet?

BURNS: As far as we know from here, Bill, we don't have that information that the processing of the names has been completed. They have not identified any of the sailors from this end that we know of. That obviously is a very slow and painstaking process of going to the families in the States and informing them directly. So, that is a very slow process. That's why it's taking time -- Bill.

HEMMER: Also, Chris, based on the number of injured you say will be transported, there are about two dozen, according to your figures. Do we have an indication, the extent of injuries for those U.S. sailors?

BURNS: Bill, among the 22, they are not giving us any kind of status, but we do know, overall, there are about a half a dozen are in -- were in serious condition, anyway, when they arrived at the French military hospital in Djibouti. So, there are a number of serious injuries that are being dealt with and probably some more over here when they arrive at Landstuhl. Landstuhl is a very good military hospital here. It's cared for a number of people from the Gulf War, also from the U.S. embassy bombings back in '98. So, they'll be in good hands over here -- Bill.

HEMMER: Once more to clarify, Chris, how long before those sailors arrive?

BURNS: In about two hours, we will stand by and we will let you know, live.

HEMMER: All right, CNN's Chris Burns by telephone at Ramstein Air Base in the western section of Germany.

Here's Daryn.

KAGAN: And nowhere are there people more interested in knowing what's going on in that part of the world than at Norfolk Navy base in Virginia. And that is where the USS Cole is based.

Out of there, let's go to our Mark Potter, who is standing by with the latest -- Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Bill and Chris were talking a moment ago about the notification process. We do have information here on that. Notification is still underway, according to Navy officials. Many of the families now have been notified. But that process has not been completed, yet. And in the case of the sailors who were killed or who are listed as missing, that notification is being done by the Navy in person, not by phone. It's being done in person. Now, the efforts here at this base, the home port for the USS Cole, are now directed toward, not only notification, but support of the families, of the crew, of the ship. Families have been invited to come here to the base. About 150 came here yesterday. They've been given fairly regular briefings from Navy -- the Navy leadership. They're also being given support services: counseling, grief counseling, religious counseling, day care, things like that, support groups. Counseling is also being directed toward the children, specifically, here, knowing that this is a particularly traumatic experience for them as well.

The surrounding community, Norfolk and other towns nearby, are also offering their support. They've been offering food and lodging, statements of consolation have been coming from political leaders. The flags in the neighboring communities are flying at half-staff as they are also at the base.

Particularly tough, if you can imagine, for the families yesterday, was that long period of time when they had to wait for information on this status of their loved ones aboard the ship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are people that are very quiet. And there are people that are very upset. But everyone is just waiting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very stressful. The Navy family tends to come together to try to support each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: Well, officials at the base say that they feel for the families. They understand that the difficulty that delay caused them, but they say they just had to get the information right first. They had to confirm the information before passing it on. The last thing that they wanted to do was to pass on bad information. The information is now being disseminated. And, as I said at the outset, that process is still underway.

This is Mark Potter, CNN, reporting live, from Norfolk, Virginia.

HEMMER: All right, Mark, thank you.

FBI agents, again, headed for Yemen to help investigate the attack on the USS Cole. Authorities say they do not know who is responsible just yet, but the list does include suspects from a number of Middle East groups as well as the indicted terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.

From the Pentagon this morning, watching the post for us, CNN's Carl Rochelle, where we pick things up live and Carl, details, information, few and precious thus far, but are we gleaning anything new this morning?

CARL ROCHELLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bits and pieces here and there. Most of the information -- you do know FBI agents are on the way. And you did note that Osama Bin Laden is one of the people who is being looked at, his organization, but not only that. Hezbollah, Hamas and officials say, especially Egyptian Islamic Jihad -- they are all being looked at as possible causes for this.

We know that a Navy survey team on the way in the area, take a look at that ship, decide exactly what the do with it now. Officials here at the Pentagon telling me that a decision has not yet been made on whether it is to be towed back or possibly come back under its own power. There is still one good engine on board. The damage from the bomb only took out one of the engines. There was some twisted metal inside, galley area, berthing space, up above where the explosion went off. All were damaged, but they're trying to take care of everything. I'm told that the bow and stern sections of this ship, fore and aft, are okay. It's just that one area. It is stable and they have the flooding under control. So, they are working on that this morning.

The admiral, the chief of Naval operations, told us that the men there are working very hard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. VERN CLARK, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: They are very fatigued. They are working to find their missing shipmates. They are working and fighting for their ship and making sure that she is safe. And, in fact, I'm happy to report that this morning things are stabilized. They have contained the flooding and all accept the space that's open to the sea there in the hole that is visible in the pictures that have been shown to the public. So, an awful lot has gone on overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROCHELLE: Now, one thing went on overnight was a raise in the death toll. Now seven known dead, 10 still missing and presumed dead, about 35 or so injured. We are told by one Navy official, telling CNN, that women were among those dead and injured.

I'm Carl Rochelle, CNN, reporting live from the Pentagon.

KAGAN: Carl, thank you very much.

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