Skip to main content

tv   Anderson Cooper 360  CNN  September 16, 2011 5:00pm-6:00pm PDT

5:00 pm
human rights activists tell us every day. according to a pro democracy group, at least 46 people were killed in several cities today. 46 people. the six-month long government crackdown is not letting up. the u.s. says there is no crackdown. some of this is truly mind bending stuff you're getting tonight. here's he told us today. >> out of the list that was announced by the so-called activists in syria, that killed people, 500, at least 500 have come out and said, we read our names in the lists. we are alive and kicking. these are blatant lies. this is the problem we're facing today in syria. a massive campaign of disinformation and lies. >> if we cannot go in and substantiate these number. prove them or disprove them. how can we, who can we believe? why won't the government let us? >> you were invited. >> i was invited.
5:01 pm
but not allowed to circulate inside syria. >> the brutality that is being committed in syria against innocent people, against policemen and the syrian military. never reported. >> i have to say that's not true at all. we have a reported on the deaths of the security forces. we know about a number of the people have been security forces. but a large number have been civilians, demonstrators, pro democracy activists and children. who are these armed gangs? i would love to see this. >> the first one, the third one, the freedom of democracy movement in syria. ayman al zawahiri, three days ago gave a speech in which he emphasized two things.
5:02 pm
he was bragging about september 11th and he was asking the mujahideen of the islamic world to go join their syrian mujahideen brothers. >> so you are saying what's happening in syria is some fundamentalist islamist extremist armed movement that is trying to destabilize. >> if you are talking about the armed groups, absolutely. if you are talking about peaceful protesters. let me repeat this. we believe their demands are legitimate and we are addressing their demands in a comprehensive way. >> one of the thing you said in a radio interview a few days ago, not a single demonstration in syria has started from anywhere other than a mosque. i was in syria in june, as you know. that's not true. >> it is true. >> there were demonstrations at damascus university. a sky news team filmed it. and it was nowhere near a mosque. >> untrue. >> why would everyone be lying?
5:03 pm
>> they are not lying. >> about syria. i don't understand. >> let us be respectful and reasonable. everybody knows. inside syria and outside syria. not every mosque wads demonstration. i would say out of the 3,000 or 4,000 mosques in syria, 70 or 80 were at the epicenter of the demonstrations. >> a pretty extraordinary interview. before do i, i want to point out that what you heard is nothing new. in interview after interview, the syrian government has twisted the truthful let's hear what the ambassador to the united nations said last month. >> they accused your government, and i quote, of a pattern of human rights vial pagss constitutes widespread or systematic attacks against civilian population which may amount to crimes against humanity. they go on to say you are intentionally going after children. they say children have not only been targeted by security forces
5:04 pm
but they have been repeatedly subject to the same human rights and criminal violations as adults, including tort you are with no consideration for their vulnerable status. how can children be targeted and then returned to their parents? do you deny that's happening? >> absolutely. children are not targeted by the police. neither by the army. let me comment on what you have just said. the report of the high commissioner is unfounded and biased. she didn't reflect any of our, my government's points of view in the report. she didn't even go to syria. she just relied on reports coming from syrian refugees in -- >> circumstance back in arng you yourself said that no international commission needed to come to syria or is allowed to come to syria. because your government was certainly capable of being transparent and doing your own investigations. but that certainly does not seem to be true. >> absolutely. >> the ambassador to the u.n., after not allowing a human rights delegation into syria.
5:05 pm
you heard him say children are not targeted. since it began six months ago, the government said one thing time after time, the video tells a different story. some of the images you're going to see are difficult to look at. but they were shot by activists and others. we can't independently confirm the reports because they won't lowe us in the country. the government says it is not targeting children. yet a 2-year-old girl trying to escape with her family last month in the coastal city was shot and killed. a 2-year-old. she wasn't a threat to anyone. she couldn't even hold a gun. they say they're not targeting children. this is one of the most sickening images to come out of syria. a 13-year-old boy in hamza. he took part in some of the demonstrations. his family said he was kidnapped, tortured and killed. his body returned to them. the signs of to the you are in the videos. he became a symbol of the uprising.
5:06 pm
they say we haven't reported the bloodshed. another lie. sadly we've been reporting for months unarmed protesters in homes and cities across syria. the cries have been met with gun fire and bloody chaos. security forces have been throwing protester to the ground. beating and kicking them. we see it there loading somebody into the back of the car after beating them. there's video like this. we're showing you protesters in the streets and government snipers shooting anyone that tries to help them. as the men try to recover the victims, they are fired on as well. we've seen it time and time again. even ambulance workers are targeted. security forces are showing no mercy, even attacking the people who can heal the wounded. a lot to talk about. joining me, a syrian human rights activist. to hear him claim the only demonstrations during in mosques. they are one of the few places people can gads without being attacked so that's why they come
5:07 pm
out of mosques. he didn't answer about the demonstrations that have occurred at the universities and elsewhere. did he say anything that was truth? >> all that he said is lies, actually. i'm sorry to say that nothing of what he said is true. first of all, he said 500 persons who got killed. we mentioned their names, to be alive. this is just lies. we have now about the 3,000 people who got killed. we have their names, their videos of after they got killed. their photos. we have all of that reported. second, yes. protests started from a mosque because it was the only places people can gather without got arrested. after that, they are now in the squares of the cities. they come from the universities. they even have the protests in
5:08 pm
hospitals. in the bar associations for lawyers, everywhere now. >> when i interviewed the syrian ambassador to the u.n., he couldn't even named the armed groups that he said were supposedly causing all this chaos. during your interview, now it is an al qaeda leader, ayman al zawahiri who is in hiding just because al zawahiri said something in one of his long rambling missives from pakistan. >> right. and he gave me this fold we are a set of four pictures of individuals that the ambassador says are responsible for fomenting this, for encouraging these extremist armed gangs. so this is an attempt at at least trying to identify people. to give some weight to the narrative we've heard from the beginning, anderson, that these are armed gangs terrorizing the country. that materialized all of a sudden. as they've swept across the region. >> i want to play you something
5:09 pm
the ambassador said about the syrian human rights activist who died after being arrested by authorities recently. his body was returned to show signs being badly beaten, tortured. i want to play you what he said. >> why on hell would the syrian security abduct a person, kill him, and then give his body, dismembered, and eviscerated to his family? >> well, human rights groups would say that's to intimidate others. is that not happening? >> this man was killed by groups that want to further tarnish the image of the syrian government because they believe this is their historically documented opportunity to attack the syrian regime and topple it. >> we have seen time and again, this regime returning the tortured bodies of people. even children to the families and then forcing the families to say that their child died of natural causes, their family member died of natural causes. explain why the regime does
5:10 pm
this. >> they want to send a message that everybody will continue in this way. will continue to protest. will continue to say we don't want -- >> what's interesting about that is, rationally you might say, why would a regime show the evidence of their crimes to family members and others. dictators do this time and time again. this is how you scare people. this is how you make people live in fear. >> this is the way to dissuade people to come out on to the streets. those who continue tied know they're doing it. know that they are risking their lives by doing. so it is perhaps in cities where there are, we've seen fewer demonstrations, where there is truly a level of fear. that's one of the factors playing in. when you see these youtube videos, it might energize a subsection of the demonstrators and it might really be a cause for concern for others.
5:11 pm
so this is something that we've seen in syria but in other countries in the region as well. >> when you pointed out that you were there. you weren't allowed to travel around without government minders. you weren't allowed to go to where the protesters were. i reported from syria years ago we have other there weren't these demonstrations and i had a government minder every second of the day with me. the ambassador trade to ignore that and say that's not the case and moved on to another subject. this guy in his slick suit and for all his fancy talk, it was just lie after lie after lie. >> right. but it was better to be there with the restrictions than not to be there at all. we had actually an opportunity to speak with some of these demonstrators. they were young university students, by and large. internet savvy, tech savvy guys who know how to upload a video to youtube without getting caught. but we had an opportunity to speak to some of these protesters. and absolutely in no way did they fit description provided by the ambassador, that they were
5:12 pm
extremist armed gangs. >> i appreciate your taking the risk and talking to us tonight. thank you for your interview. fascinating. we're on facebook. follow me on twitter. up next, breaking news. inside the battle for libya. opposition forces attack loyalist strongholds. they're still holding out. fierce fighting today. we'll get a live report from our reporters on the ground and we'll talk to fareed zakaria. and seaworld going up against federal investigators who stay park willfully put its whale trainers at risk. remember one of the trainers was killed in front of a live audience. one show many people of course will never forget. we'll have the latest coming up. the 360 follow tonight. a motorcyclist trapped under a burning car, total strangers risk their own lives to rescue him. we're hearing from the survivor.
5:13 pm
>> i wanted to thank all the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. >> and that more when "360" continues. to 12 hours. salonpas. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm.
5:14 pm
for a free home loan review, we'll offer them a free android smartphone. but how are you gonna get these phones to our clients coast to coast? it's gonna take a little magic. i'm on it.
5:15 pm
straight from motown to you, america! yes! helping people coast to coast. give me that spartan touch. [ male announcer ] call today for a free home loan review. we'll offer a free android smartphone to you! one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be. and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes. we let you be everywhere at once. innovations like these are extending our reach so you can extend yours. and now, even at 30,000 feet you can still touch the ground. a day of intense fighting.
5:16 pm
entering pro gadhafi towns trying to get the upper hand. their attempt failed in gadhafi's home town of sirte. they've pulled out after a brutal dave street fighting. the man claiming to be gadhafi's spokesman saying they have enough equipment and weaponry for a long war. yesterday ben wederman witnessed in another town. >> reporter: the rebels told us the town was safe but it wasn't. we're in this town that is partially under the control of the rebels. but there are other parts of it that still remain loyal to moammar gadhafi. the situation is very fluid at the moment. >> the battle rages on. ben wederman joins me from libya. in sirte, bill black. you're with opposition fighters in the south of the country. what's the situation there now?
5:17 pm
>> reporter: well, what we've seen is a steady sort of advance by these fighters. their goal is to get to the city, the biggest town in the south. and a stronghold of moammar gadhafi. they say there are a lot of members of gadhafi's tribe there. and they also believe that two, moammar gadhafi himself and abdullah, his brutal and no or the yugs intelligence chief, may be in this area. that is their goal, to establish the control of the new government in tripoli down here. and get these two men. and it is expected that it will be quite a fight when they get to the city itself not only is this a stronghold for gadhafi but it is an area with lots and lots of weapons. warehouse after warehouse of
5:18 pm
ammunition, tank shells, mortar rounds. it is expected that gadhafi's forces have even more of that there. >> fighters went back into the home town of sirte today. is that city under the control of the council or is it unclear right now? >> reporter: it is not even close. >> what we saw was intense chaotic street fighting with pro gadhafi forces. the rebels said they didn't expect anything like this. what they were also banking on was the local population rising up in their support. that didn't happen. as a result, come the end of the day, they were nowhere near
5:19 pm
control of the city itself. so they pulled back to the outskirts, which is where we are now. >> the nato playing a part for sirte? >> reporter: we've seen nato striking sirte in recent weeks. they've admitted they've done so today. we saw a number of large explosions that realistically could possibly have only come from nato. but despite the softening out of the pro gadhafi forces, which is as i say, it's been going on for some weeks here, it wasn't enough. the rebels say they'll go in again tomorrow. but i think that without this popular uprising, they think this could be on for some time and they are really worried about the citizen casualties that could take place as a result of a really prolonged urban battle. >> rick: ben, where are -- no one knows for sure but where did they think gadhafi is now. and is it possible he could slip over into niger as some of his
5:20 pm
family members have? >> reporter: well, specifically, they believe he is probably, or may be in the oasis about 70 kilometers, or rather, 70 miles to the south. a huge oasis. lots of vegetation there. and it puts him in an ideal situation. if he wants to flee the country as for instance his son did, to go to niger, to go to chad, you have to remember, this is a vast country. we're right in the middle of the sahara desert. there are lots of smugglers. this part of libya has traditionaltraditio traditionally lived on smuggling so it would be very easy for him, if he decided to, to take the desert tracks into one of those neighboring african countries. they do believe that he is still within libya itself. as i mentioned before, the fact that abdullah, a blood relative
5:21 pm
of moammar gadhafi, is in this area, they believe he was in a town not far from here. just about seven or eight miles. that he's gone further to the south. the fact that he is here is an xa xags, it is an indication that gadhafi may not be too far. another concern to libya. the threat of islamic streeft extremists taking over the government. i talked about that earlier with fareed. >> how concerned are you good b growing slammist influence? >> i think it is a concern. clearly there are some islamic groups that are very well organized. it seems to follow the same pattern in egypt and perhaps all over the arab world. not that the libyan people are strongly islamic. pits the islamic parties are strongly organized. >> under gadhafi, even though
5:22 pm
they were outlawed, they were the only groups that actually were viable. that actually did stand in opposition. >> two reasons. one, there is a real fervent belief. it was important to organize in an mosque. that's true in the entire arab world. what isn't clear is whether the fact there is this minority, perhaps 20%, 30%. very well organized. will be able to take over the political system. my sense is that the libyan opposition is pretty broad, pretty diverse. it would be a stroech imagine these parties would be able to take over. >> at this point they are claiming they're not looking to take over. they're not looking for power. they always say that. and it is hard for any group to not want to take power. >> that's right. they say they want to be democratic. the leader of one of then said if a woman is elected president, that's fine with us.
5:23 pm
we want, not a secular country but that's what he implied. tough to tell. there are some islamic groups that are pretty democratic. then there are the iranian ones. what i can say is there is a lot of suspicion in libya about those statements. a lot of them have said don't believe the disclaimers. they really want to take over the whole country. the key is not whether they want to do that. the key is whether will the rest of the country -- people have paid a lot for this revolution. they won't sit idly by and watch some islamist party take over. >> sunday night at 8:00, you have a special on. what is it about? >> trying to figure out the jobs problem in america. it seem to me this is the big problem we face and what we try to look at, why is it so bad? it turns out it is not just this. we've had problems creating a jobs for a decade, maybe more. over the last decade, net job
5:24 pm
creation is zero. we not created a single job. >> over the entire decade. >> the last decade. >> you talk to ceos and business leaders. >> they are called the job creators. i talked to ge, the guy who runs starwood hotels and other people. kay bailey hutchison. what would it take to hire people? a simple example. if you let in tourists, they spend a lot of money. one of my guests calls them walk stimulus program. why not complete the twice as many tourists as we do? we make it very hard for people to come to this country and visit. the more people who come here, the more jobs there are in the hotels, airline, everything. yet we're alone among countries that make it very hard for people to be tourists. >> interesting stuff. thanks. don't miss his gps prime time special. restoring the american dream,
5:25 pm
getting back to work. this sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. right here on cnn. talking to business leaders about how to create jobs in america. still ahead, seaworld orlando set to fight the federal government before a judge over employees put in hazardous situations which led to the death of the trainer of the killer whale. and this man was saved by strangers. he speaks out for the first time. >> that car could have blown up at any time. just how brave they are. it's crazy. i'm forever in debt to them. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities,
5:26 pm
creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. wso to save money, i trained my dog and this cockatoo. to play all the hits of the '80's woman: hit it, mr. butters. ♪ ♪ take on me... ♪ ....take on me ♪ take me on... anncr: there's an easier way to save. get online. go to geico.com get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be.
5:27 pm
and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes. we let you be everywhere at once. innovations like these are extending our reach so you can extend yours. and now, even at 30,000 feet you can still touch the ground.
5:28 pm
5:29 pm
breaking news right now. a plane has crashed into the stand at an air show in reno, nevada and there are multiple deaths. 60 people have been injured. 30 of them seriously. the accident at the reno national championship air races a short time ago. joining me now on the phone. mike draper, a p.r. rep. what that? >> a plane crashed into the box area which is the area right in front of our grand stands. at about 4:00, 4:15 today. there are mass casualties. local emergency personnel are on the scene.
5:30 pm
all the protocol of the air sxrass local emergency person sell being followed. they do plan for situations like this. i'm looking to get more information for you. >> there is a preliminary report that it was a p-51 mustang aircraft. can you confirm that? >> it was. it was a plane called galloping ghost. it was piloted by a gentleman named jimmy leeward. we can't confirm the status of the pilot or anyone for that matter. we're working on it. >> do you know the circumstances under -- was he having trouble in the air? do you know why it crashed? >> he it was about a lap or two into the unlimited race. we don't know why it crashed. the pilot did call in. he did pull out of the lap, which is what they do. they usually pull up, directly up to clear the race track.
5:31 pm
but outside of that, we don't have any details as to what that. the course of action, the faa is on the scene, as well as the national transportation safety board. they will investigate. and i'm sure are investigating right now to determine a cause. we don't have anything yet. >> you said it was your unlimited race. what does that mean? unlimited class? >> exactly. a race is broken up into, the events are broken up into six weight classes. the unlimited class is our most recognized class. the engine, it is the gold race out here today. was a qualifying day. tomorrow is -- tomorrow and sunday is when they begin the championship races. >> i'm putting up a picture of a p-51 mustang. it was not this one but this is to give our viewers a sense.
5:32 pm
at this point, have all the, those injured -- we're seeing video right now that we've seen off youtube of the incident. we have not seen this. we're literally showing it to you as we got it. >> you are probably seeing more than i've seen. it is a very large race field. just about 15 miles north. as a matter of protocol, the grandstanders here -- the national guard out here anyway in hoping the assist emergency person toll keep the area clear. there are people still being escorted out of that area with various injuries. >> so you still have injured people on the scene. >> as far as i can see right now, it doesn't appear, exactly. >> and it looks as though just from the video, we're hearing
5:33 pm
people in the crowd saying oh-oh. it looks like they could tell something was wrong seconds before the crash. clearly the plane was deviating from the flight path pretty clearly that folks in the stand who hadn't even heard the mayday call could hear something was going on. >> it was. the protocol for the planes, any time there might be any sort of discrepancy or problem with the plane, is to pull directly up so they clear the course out of the way of other planes. that is something that happens, you know, on a regular basis, as a precautionary measure. but it was clear this one was pulling up and was in distress. >> and i just now heard for the first -- just so you know, we've been showing this as we've been getting it. and you can actually see just in the left-hand corner of the screen, very quickly, the plane coming almost, i believe i just caught hit the last time we looked at it.
5:34 pm
just coming almost straight down. it is not the plane -- it comes almost -- there you see it. >> i didn't witness it myself. i was in a meeting but i think that's pretty accurate. >> do you have any sense now of fatalities? are there fatalities? >> i don't know. well, we're being will that there are likely fatalities. but emergency responders have not confirmed the status of any of the folks that they've taken from the field. they're taking them to a local hospital. >> do you have any sense right now, how many people are still on the scene? >> i don't. i know there is a report out there about the number. that's more information than i have right now. >> listen, i appreciate you being on with us. and please, we'll continue to contact you as events warrant. thanks very much for being with us. >> thank you, answer.
5:35 pm
>> i'm so sorry what what was experience there'd and let's hope those injured people get the medical aid they need. we'll continue to follow that story. we'll take a short break. [ daniel ] my name is daniel northcutt. [ jennifer ] and i'm jennifer northcutt. opening a restaurant is utterly terrifying. we lost well over half of our funding when everything took a big dip. i don't think anyone would open up a restaurant if they knew what that moment is like. ♪ day 1, everything happened at once. ♪
5:36 pm
i don't know how long that day was. we went home and let it sink in what we had just done. [ laughs ] ♪ word of mouth is everything, and word of mouth today is online. it all goes back to the mom and pop business and building something from the heart, founded within a family. when i found out i was pregnant, daniel was working on our second location. everyone will find out soon enough i think that something's happening. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] we went to germany's nurburgring to challenge ourselves on the most demanding track in the world. with us, in spirit, was every great car that we'd ever competed with. the bmw m5. and the mercedes-benz e63. for it was their amazing abilities that pushed us to refine, improve and, ultimately, develop the world's fastest production sedan.
5:37 pm
the cts-v, from cadillac. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs.
5:38 pm
we're covering breaking news. a situation right now, officials are reporting mass casualties after a plane crashed into spectator in an air show in reno, nevada. the p-51 mustang crashed into an area in front of the grandstand at the air show. this is a file picture of a p-51 mustang to give you a sense of the aircraft involved. joining us now on the phone, the retired airline pilot, jim tillman.
5:39 pm
what kind of an aircraft is this? >> it is an airplane, during world war ii, it was the favorite airplane for the tuskegee airmen. a very fast airplane. sad to see one of those go down. >> i don't know if you've seen this video. we just got it. if we can play that, we're going to show you a slow motion of the crash. the person stood up. there you can just see the plane right before that person stood up. we'll tray to rewind it. you can see the plane really heading, it looks, almost straight into the ground. we were told by mike draper who does, one of the producers of this, who did public relations for this spraent there was a may day call. that the pilot attempted to pull up. but clearly at this point, what do you think went on? >> well, it sounds like
5:40 pm
mechanical failure of some kind. let's face it. this is a world war ii airplane. and it look like an airplane has been very well maintained. and it will fly forever as long as you maintain it. about it sounds from what you're just telling me now, like he had some kind of a mechanical difficulty. that he could not do anything about. seeing an airplane flying into a crowd like that means he completely lost control. there was no way. these guys, when they do have to go in like that, they don't go into the crowd. >> we know the plane was flown by a man by the name of, i believe it was -- jimmy it was name i wrote down. he had time to do a may day call. are there parachutes in these planes? >> they may well have had a parachute. he was at low altitude. the whole air show is done at a very low altitude, generally. and the chances. his being able to get out with the -- besides that, i'm telling
5:41 pm
you that if he had had enough time to exit the airplane, he would have had enough time and control to avoid, allowing the airplane to go into the stands. so there is a lot we don't know. but these are not guys that are likely to allow an aircraft going down to head into people. >> how dangerous are these air shows? >> well, you know, that's a matter of opinion and everything else. let's put it this way. don't do this story every day. and yet we have air shows constantly around the world. it does have its hazards. so does nascar, you know? so those types of problems that are likely to come up. when they do like this, they'll be catastrophic. but i don't consider the air show as an air show to be a
5:42 pm
dangerous thing. let's put it this way. at that arena, i would have taken my grandchildren there. >> a plane like this, with that kind of a fall, the plane itself has to be just obliterated. >> oh, yeah. you won't find a lot of pieces of it left. a high performance airplane moving very, very fast. if it hits anything, it will be the end. >> the faa we're told is already on the scene. are they automatically at these air shows? >> generally they'll have people that are involved. they want to make sure all the safety precautions are taken care of before the fact. they won't be very far away. >> i misspoke. the pilot's name was jimmy leeward. the plane itself was called the galloping ghost. it was, the crash was approximately 7:15 eastern time. 4:15 local time in reno. at this point, what is the next
5:43 pm
step? obviously there are still casualties on the ground. still wounded people there. they're being dealt with and attempting to get them. no doubt they've set up a triage area and trying to prioritize people and get out those, as quickly as possible. get every one out as quickly as possible. in term of the investigation to this crash, what is the next step? >> they're going to examine everything. that's what the ntsb does like everyone else in the world. they're going to conduct an investigation and look at everything that happened with that airplane over the past few weeks and months. years maybe. all the records with the airplane. they'll be looking at the pilot. the pilot's background. what it was like that day. they don't leave any stone unturned them look at every single factor. obviously the weather looks leak it was no factor here in this accident. but we don't just take anything for granted. the ntsb may take quite a long
5:44 pm
time before they fnl their investigation. rest assured, they will do a good job of it. >> local radio rorth witnesses saying the plane simply disintegrated, as we were talking about. anything else we should know about this aircraft? about what you think went on? >> well, all i can say is that it performs extremely well ever since world war ii. and there's been a great airplane to have at air shows. its sound, it has a very distinctive sound. it has a very beautiful presence, as you can tell. it is a tremendous airplane. but i'll tell you now, the ntsb will do a forensic on this airplane and they'll look at every part, every rivet, everything else. they'll find out what went wrong if they can possibly do so. >> right now the priority, of course, is trying to get aid to those on the ground who have been injured. we do not have real figures of
5:45 pm
how many. we are told the term mass casualties has been used. it's not clear -- the producer of the event believes there are fatalities. we don't know how many at this point. how many are simply injured. to what degree those injures are. we'll try to get you more information. [ male announcer ] a moment that starts off ordinary can become romantic just like that. a spark might come from -- a touch, a glance -- it can come along anywhere, anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready
5:46 pm
with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right even if it's not every day. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. you know what,ell me, what makes peterpeter ? i can my own homemade jam, apricot. and really love my bank's ise your ratcd. i'm sorry, did you say you'd love a pay raise asap uh, tuly, i said i love my bank's raise your rate cd.
5:47 pm
you spen8 days lo at sea ? no, uh... you love watching your neighbors watch tv ? at ally, you'll love o raise your rate cd that offers a one-ti rate increase if our currentates go up. is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be. and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes. we let you be everywhere at once. innovations like these are extending our reach so you can extend yours. and now, even at 30,000 feet you can still touch the ground.
5:48 pm
a plane in has crashed into spectators in reno, nevada. a spokesperson said there are mass casualties. i'm not sure of the actual number. the p-51 mustang crashed into an area in front of the grandstand at the national championship air races and air show. you're good b to see the crash on the left-hand side of the screen. the plane heading straight down from the top. screen straight into the ground. the fax and the national transportation safety board are on the scene, along with members of the national guard who are already on site for the air show.
5:49 pm
as i said, there is no word on the exact number of casualties at this point. we're going to continue to follow that. we also have a "360" follow-up. a college stoonlt whose life was saved by a group of strangers. you've probably seen this. in utah, bystanders joined together to lift a burning car off brandon wright who was trapped underneath. he had been riding a motorcycle which crashed. the crash happened when a bmw pulled out of a parking lot. one bystander dragged him out. he is now in the hospital recovering from leg and pelvis fracture, burned feet and smoke inhalation. his foot was on fire when they first pulled him out. today he reported from the hospital today. take a look. >> i just wanted to thank all the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. i'm forever in debt.
5:50 pm
i can't thank them enough. i would like to meet all the people that rescued me. i hope i can. that car could have blown up at any time. and how brave they are, it's crazy. i just am forever in debt to them. i came to for about five seconds while i was under the car. i screamed a couple times. i threw up some blood. and that was lights out again. i woke up to a man in a green shirt just kneeling over me and trying to get me to talk and keeping me awake. i would really like to meet him, too. he did not let me close my eyes and go back to sleep. really. without him, i don't know if i would have hung in there. i've always thought that life is extremely precious. but having this experience just makes it that much more precious to me.
5:51 pm
i should have died several times, really. i should have died when i hit the pavement. i should have died when i hit the car. i should have died when the car burst into flames. but i didn't for some reason. and that just makes life that much more precious to me. >> brandon also said he usually wears a motorcycle helmet but wasn't that day because he was just going a short distance. the computer lab at utah state university where as he graphic design major. he said when he gets better he'll get another motorcycle and the best helmet he can find. just ahead, we'll have more. we'll take a -- actually, let's go to the news desk. >> reporter: in air eric officials have lifted a lockdown. the security scare was triggered by a report of an armed man entering a building. fbi agents and local police were dispatched to the base. no details yet on whether there was actually a gun. researchers in australia have identified a new species of. do. they discovered the pod not in a
5:52 pm
remote lagoon but rather in plain sight in a bay near melbourne. the dow add 76 points. both the dow and s&p are up of 5% for the week. their best weekly advance in more than two months. nasdaq had its best week in more than two years. and arngds there is now world peace in the nba, sort of. ron artest has changed his name to meta world peace. that's right. his publicist says meta in the buddhist tradition means loving kindness and friendliness. an interesting choice considering the athlete formerly known as artest was suspended for jumping into the stands and hurting fans during a brawl. >> piers: maybe a whole new him. if you're just joining us, we've got a number of stories we're following. we'll take a short break and update you on the plane crash in reno.
5:53 pm
an airline's job, is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be. and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes. we let you be everywhere at once. innovations like these are extending our reach so you can extend yours.
5:54 pm
and now, even at 30,000 feet you can still touch the ground. when someone changes lanes without warning? or when you're distracted? when you're falling asleep at the wheel? do you know how you'll react? lexus can now precisely test the most unpredictable variable in a car -- the driver. when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer the world's most advanced driving simulator. you engineer amazing. ♪
5:55 pm
5:56 pm
a plane has crashed into spectators in an air show in reno, nevada. a spokesperson said there are mass casualties. we don't have an exact number. often those early reports are inaccurate. a local station abc 7 is reporting at least seven dead. maybe as many as 30 injured. a short time ago i spoke with mike draper, a p.r. rep. as you can see, the plane crashing. a number of planes were passing by horizontally in what they call the unlimited event. different types of aircraft. the aircraft was involved with this was a mustang -- and it comes down vertically. the p-51 mustang. the pilot of the aircraft did put out a may day call. you can see the plane right there coming straight down. he tried to pull up according to mike draper, but was unable to. eventually the plane went nearly
5:57 pm
perpendicular straight down into the ground. mass casualties being reported by mike draper who is one of the producers, who does public events, public affair for this air show. this occurred around 4:15 local time, about 7:15 east coast time. so an hour, 1:45 ago. >> reporter: after we got here, as i said, there were about eight ambulances that were on their way out when we first showed up. there were several more after we arrived. there were fire trucks, helicopters out here. as they started to thin out, we could see a little more of what this scene looked like. there was a lot of crime tape around. there was what look like scrap metal all over, between basically between the runway and where the grand stands are. it looked like scrap metal spread out for probably 50 yards from where we were sitting.
5:58 pm
>> excuse me. i'm trying to get more information online. again, no firm reports fatalities at this point. there are various number floating around though frankly, at this early hour, it is too soon to give you an accurate number. it was owned by the pilot by the name jimmy leeward who was able to give out some sort of a may day call. you could tell from hearing people in the stands on this video. let's listen in. you can tell people are aware there is a problem. people are saying, come on, come on. as if rooting for the pilot to pull up out of this. but that may not was going straight down. and given the speed it was traveling, probably very little of the aircraft left. the faa is already on the scene, as well as ntsb officials, who
5:59 pm
obviously will be investigating the cause of this crash. again, right now the priority is on trying to help those who have been injured. some of them reportedly severely injured. when i talked to mike draper about 30 or so minutes ago, there were still ambulances on the field. still trying to attend to those who had been injured. it is not clear at this hour if all those people have now been attended or if they've triaged on site. tried to get the most badly hurt out and are still dealing with those who are less injured at this point. it is still the early hours after this. people are still being escorted out of the area with injuries, according to the last we heard from the spokesman for the air show. we'll continue to follow this event. it's now 9:00 p.m. on the east coast of the united states. we'll h