Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

No Survivors in U.S.'s Deadliest Hot Air Ballon Accident; Families Fleeing Aleppo; Brazilian Mothers of Zika-Affected Babies Fight Back Against Stigma; Tropical Storm Batters Philippines. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired July 31, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:03] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. sees its deadliest hot air balloon accident after a crash in Texas leaves no survivors. Families begin to flee Aleppo as the Syrian government encircles what was once the country's largest city. And Brazilian mothers of babies children affected by Zika fight back against the social stigma of the virus.

These stories are all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Hello, everyone. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

A devastating hot air balloon accident in the U.S. appears to have taken 16 lives. Federal authorities say there are no survivors after the balloon crashed on Saturday in Texas. If investigators confirmed those deaths, it will be the worst hot air balloon disaster U.S. history. The balloon went down in Caldwell Country between the cities of Austin and San Antonio.

Ed Lavandera tells us what may have been a major factor in the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It appears that investigators will be taking a very close look that role that power lines in the area where this hot air balloon went down might have played in this tragedy. Two sources tell us, one a law enforcement and other county official tell us they believe the hot air balloon collided with the power lines, igniting the fire and the flames on board inside that basket that essentially killed the 16 people believed to be on board that hot air balloon. The exact cause is not clear. So it's not clear what caused the hot air balloon to perhaps collide into the power lines and what exactly was going on, on board when all of this happened. So that is something that investigators, as they begin arriving on the scene and piecing together, we'll be taking a very close look at. It could be some time before the National Transportation Safety Board, which is the government agency here in the United States that examines these types of accidents and it usually takes them weeks if not months to come up with an official ruling as to what cause the accident. But a witness on the ground described what she saw as that hot air balloon went down to the ground. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think any of them even realized what was going on because we heard the popping sounds and I didn't look down in time to see the balloon go down. But the way it went up, I don't think any of them even had any idea what was going on.

LAVANDERA: One other interesting note, a debate that has been going on between the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States. The NTSB several years ago was calling for more regulation governing these hot air balloon companies that operate these types of rides. The FAA pushed back on all of that. It's not exactly clear if these regulations might have made a difference in this tragedy that unfolded in Texas but it is interesting to note that these debates about the regulations and how these companies are controlled and governed has been a topic of debate between these two government agencies here in the United States.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: In Aleppo, Syria, Russia says civilians are using new humanitarian corridors to get out of this key city. But many others there say they don't trust Syrian officials to protect them if they leave. The oppositions says the Syrian government is using the corridors as a military strategy ...

(AUDIO GAP)

ALLEN: Ian Lee reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a relatively quite day in Aleppo at least from the sky, sources inside the city telling CNN that this is the first day in about a month there hasn't been any air strikes. In the meantime, the Syrian government is saying that they opened up three humanitarian corridors so that civilians and fighters who want to lay down their weapons and be granted amnesty can leave the besieged city. Syrian state media releasing images of families leaving the city, Russian state media saying that over 100 civilians and dozens of fighters have left although two sources inside of Aleppo have told CNN that they have been to these crossings, they didn't see anyone crossing over or any evidence that they had been opened.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis is growing worse in Aleppo. There is a lack of food which includes sugar, cooking oil, flour, as well as water. There also is a lack of diesel. One doctor told us they are in desperate need of medicine and medical supplies. Some one-time use items, they're using them over and over again, sterilizing them each time. They say every day the aid isn't delivered, this crisis grows worse as well as the malnutrition that they're seeing. The U.N. has urged both side for a 48-hour ceasefire so that they can humanitarian assistance inside and people that need to leave get them out.

[02:05:07] No word on the ceasefire though. Ian Lee, CNN, Beirut. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Tunisia's Prime Minister has overwhelmingly lost a vote of no confidence. One hundred eighteen members of Parliament voted to unseat Habib Essid, only three voters in his favor. Twenty-seven law makers boycotted the vote. Mr. Essid has faced growing economic and security problems during his less than two years as Prime Minister.

The Rio Olympics start Friday and many Russian athletes have arrived there but still not sure if they'll be allowed to compete due to doping allegations. A three-person panel from the International Olympic Committee will have the final say. One OIC spokesman explained how the decision will be made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ADAMS, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SPOKESMAN: This review board, this review panel, will look at every single decision of every single athlete to make sure that the IOC is happy with the decision that's been taken, that they have made all of these different levels of steps and that the decision by the ICAS arbitrator is also putting that forward. And then it's up to the panels to decide if they accept or not for each individual athlete in each case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The first ever Olympic refugee team is making the best of their time in Rio. They visited the world famous Christ the Redeemer Statue overlooking the city. A team of 10 featuring athletes those from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will compete in the name of refugees everywhere. They'll also get to march with the Olympic flag right before host nation, Brazil, at the opening ceremony. Pretty cool.

Some new mothers in Brazil are dealing with an unexpected consequence of the Zika virus. They're being shunned by family and friends for giving birth to babies affected by the virus. CNN's Arwa Damon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Everyday, Maria Luisa plays her little princess this song of God's love for his children, and every day she cries.

MARIA LUISA FERREIRA DE MACEDO, MOTHER OF BABY WITH MICROCEPHALY (TRANSLATED): I get sad because of everything that has happened. I'm not sad because of her. I'm happy with her. She's wonderful.

DAMON: Maria Luisa's husband left her a month after baby Thayla Nayara was born with microcephaly. One relative even asked why she didn't abort. Thayla Nayara's older sister, too young to really understand, sometimes calls her crazy.

FERREIRA DE MACEDO: I say, "Your sister is not mad. She's a normal child, like you." DAMON: Largely abandoned, Maria Luisa says her neighbor is now like a second parent to the girls. Support groups like this bring mothers together in the epicenter of the Brazil Zika outbreak, the mothers of the so-called Zika babies lean on each other.

ROSICLAUDIA DE ARAGAO SOUSA, MOTHER OF BABY WITH MICROCEPHALY (TRANSLATED): When I had my child and knew she had microcephaly, I was like every mother. I thought I was the only one going through this.

DAMON: Rosiclaudia's daughter, Clara, turned nine months today and like most days, it's spent going from one appointment to another. The sheer commitment of raising a child with microcephaly bonds these mothers into an extended family. Rosiclaudia says she feels her isolation most in public, under the piercing stares of strangers.

DE ARAGAO SOUSA: People ask, "Oh, she was born with that disease?" They keep looking, whispering, "Look that girl with the little head."

DAMON: She is constantly arguing back that her baby isn't diseased. She's special. Most have experienced that same stigma. Their love for their little ones is unwavering. But they can only hope and pray that society evolves to accept their children, not reject them. Arwa Damon, CNN, Recife, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The Philippines is taking a battering from a tropical storm and its next stop could be Hong Kong. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis has been following that one for us. She joins us now. Karen.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLIGIST: Yes. It looks like it is on target for Hong Kong as we go into the next several days. Probably local time, Hong Kong, we're looking at Monday night or into Tuesday morning. A lot of visitors in the Hong Kong area. We've got about seven to eight million people that reside there. But you have to remember, we shouldn't really focus at least as far out specifically on Hong Kong even though computer models are saying that looks to be kind of the -- within the cone of probability here.

[02:10:07] So its got a long way to go. It's still impacting the Philippines. But the computer models are in fair agreement that does look like as it passes over the warm waters of the South China Sea, that we're looking at it increasing in intensity and we're looking at this tropical storm that will probably reach at least what would be the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane. It looks like it's going to increase in intensity in the next 36 to 48 hours. But it has battered the Philippines. A lot of these areas have picked up maybe 200 -- 300 millimeters of rainfall. So, mud and land slides are going to be a problem. We could see major power outages. But as I've mentioned, it looks very impressive on the satellite imagery.

Here's the latest, if you're looking for the statistics on this, tropical storm Nida, and it has supporting winds with it of 100 kilometers per hour. Moving to the northwest, it's fairly rapidly about 19 kilometers per hour. But then we think that it's going to be slowing down just a bit. It becomes a little ragged when it moves over land, moves out of the open waters, start to move more towards the west-northwest where its position is moving it more towards the northwest. But it's going to be under a ridge of high pressure. So that's going to keep it making kind of that trajectory, it's a little bit more towards the west.

And take a look at some of the rainfall reports over the past day or so, the last 24 hours, and we're seeing right around 50 to about 100 millimeters in most of the areas across the Central and Northern Philippines. So, we've got over the next day or so. We'll continue to monitor this, but if you live in Hong Kong, Natalie, I'm advising folks to stay on top and look at the weather and what happens there. Back to you.

ALLEN: All right, Karen. Thank you very much. Hope they do.

Sad news for all you "Game of Throne" fans, the hit HBO series will end after its eight season. That leads only two more seasons of the popular fantasy drama. The end has been rumored for a while now but HBO's programming chief made the official announcement Saturday. "Game of Thrones" season six is nominated for a whopping 23 awards at this year's Emmy's.

And that is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKETPLACE AFRICA)