technology but shifting our mindset from diagnosis looking back at what happened and looking at prognosis and technology can help us do that. >> thank you, david sousi. our live coverage continues now with john vause and zain asher in atlanta. thank you, don. hello, everybody. two breaking stories from france and yemen. this is cnn newsroom. i'm john vause. >> and i'm zain asher. the cockpit voice recorder from flight 9525 is being analyzed and it reportedly holds a very big clue as to why the plane may have crashed into the french alps. how one of the pilots was reportedly locked out of the cockpit. saudi arabia launches military operations in yemen, and houthi rebels are firing back, as concerns grow about the whereabouts of yemen's president. but first, the major clue in the crash of flight 9525.

data from the cockpit voice recorder shows one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the crash. >> a senior military official sells the "new york times" you can hear the pilot trying to smash down the door. and the other pilot is alone and doesn't open the door. lufthansa, which owns germanwings, says it's looking into that report. for more on the investigation, let's go to tom valentine who joins us from sydney, australia. thanks for being with us. the impression you get when you read that story is something sinister has happened, the co-pilot was locked out and the plane crashed. what's your take? >> you're quite right, john. it's very intriguing development. if this is in fact true, of course we don't know, the pilot may have just gone to the toilet and couldn't get back in again. but from the sound of it, it was locked out and that raises the very serious question about the other pilot, was what he doing,

was he committing suicide? it's something the investigator also have to follow up. and it would do that any way. they would study the crew, look at their back ground, see if they had any health problems, gambling problems. it's something they'll be seriously looking at. >> and tom, obviously so many unanswered questions. we don't know if one of the pilots passed out. we don't know if something sinister happened. but i just want to ask, how are pilots routinely checked for mental and physical health? >> most of the airlines have regular psychological tests for pilots. it can vary in terms of the length of time between tests. normally an airline would have their pilots go through a psychological test once every six months, and obviously the job they do, they have to keep a close watch on them. but sometimes a pilot may have a

health problem that doesn't get picked up in a health check. but psychological problem, that's a very different thing all together. it may be difficult to pick up. >> tom, we are learning the names of the passengers and more about the people on board. but the airline is yet to release the names of the pilots. it's been a couple of days now. is that unusual? >> it is rather unusual. normally you would almost get that detail first of all. in the disappearance of the malaysian airlines plane, we knew quickly who the pilots were and that authorities were investigating both of these pilots. but in this case, it is very unusual not to get the names very quickly. >> also, i guess we're assuming the pilot was alone in the cockpit while the co-pilot was trying to get in. suspect th isn't that a breach of operational procedure?

>> no, the pilot is entitled to get out of his seat and go to the toilet and the door has to be locked. but there's usually a code the pilot presses in to let him back in the cockpit. so it sounds like he wasn't able to get back in, and perhaps something was done to prevent him from using that code. >> tom, typically in the united states, if one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, you would have a flight attendant sit in his place. is it different in europe for european airlines? >> no, there would normally be a flight attendant in the vicinity. but if the pilot left, the flight attendant would still be on the outside. and if the pilot locked the door, both the second pilot and the flight attendant would still be locked outside. >> finally, we have this report in the new york times that the co-pilot initially tapped trying to get in. it was a polite tapping, if you

like. then he was trying to break the door down. in the post 9/11 world, how difficult is it to open the doors by force? >> oh, it's almost impossible. they're very strong. there's a camera there so the pilots can see who is trying to get into the door. they're reinforced. you would not be able to knock it down with your fists, as it were. >> tom, thank you. tom valentine there, senior correspondent in sydney. we appreciate you being with us. thank you. well, search crews have recovered the first human remains from the crash. our cnn affiliate in france reports helicopters have airlifted the remains out of the crash site. >> nic robertson is at the staging area in the french alps, and the search process is slow and it is difficult. >> reporter: ropes, harnesses, recovery teams.

high in the french alps, only helicopters can get to the crash site. and even then, not able to land. only drop investigators by rope. >> only by winch. >> reporter: this lady lives her, heard the crash, knows the mountains well. >> it's behind here, you see it's a very small valley. >> reporter: helicopters in the air all day. priority, recovery of bodies. slow as known can be moved until remains are documented. >> we document all things and -- >> reporter: this now a race against time. concerns are that the weather is closing in.

rain, even snow could be hampering investigators, as well. air accident and criminal investigators taken into the mountains, too. not just the cause of the crash in question, but responsibility for the deaths. the french president led the german chancellor and the spanish prime minister to inspect the results so far. merkel, whose nation lost 67 citizens, and the spanish prime minister, who lost 49 nationals. slow, somber, and respectful, as they met the recovery teams. it is unprecedented that these free leaders should come here together to review the recovery and come here so quickly. it speaks volumes to the international grief that's being felt. in coming days, it will be families of victims arriving

here searching for solace. it may take time. these mountains, in no hurry to offer up their secrets. nic robertson, cnn, france. >> and derek vandam joins us now for more on the difficult weather, which some of these searchers are encountering right now. we've been talking about this weather, how bad it's been. is there any possibility of a break? >> fortunately, they're in a narrow gap of 24 hours where they do have a break in the weather, but the winds will be a factor going into friday. these crews, both in the air and on the ground, are truly risking their lives as they go forward with this recovery effort. these helicopters are flying into a ravine. that's only 250 meters wide. let alone the crews on the krounld have ground have to deal with terrain like this.

that leaves the possibility of rock slides. this is the spring season, so we have varying precipitation. so rocks will expand and contract, depending on the temperature and precipitation they're dealing with. that's going to make the rocks very unstable, leading to the possibility of slides in the ravines below. these crews having to rappel to locate some of the body remains and some of the plane, as well. the fact that we talked about the wind factor. that's going to be an issue for the helicopters flying into this narrow ravine. regardless of which direction it's coming from, mountains create these little whirl winds of wind that can create hazardous flying conditions for helicopters. here's the break in the weather. the storm system moves east, but there is a cold front dropping south from the united kingdom. look at the winds now.

not a concern. as we head into friday morning, wind gusts will increase upwards of 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. the forecast for the next three days is dry, which is the only good news we have here. >> despite being dry, still dangerous conditions for the search and rescue teams, especially when you consider the winds and moving debris there. derek, thank you so much. you can find out more about the dangerous work of the helicopter pilots and search teams scouring the french alps. check out our website, cnn.com/international. now to breaking news from the middle east, where saudi arabia has launched military operations in yemen as that country teeters on the brink of civil war. the saudi ambassador to the u.s. says a ten-nation coalition is supporting saudi air strikes. the saudi is blaming the action on houthi rebels, saying in part, since these aggressions

have reached saudi soil, our nations are facing constant threats out of the control of the legitimate government. >> the houthis meanwhile have opened fire on saudi jet fighters near the capital. there are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of yemen's president. a saudi source speaking to cnn nic robertson maintains that he's still in yemen. >> hakim, saudi arabia has launched these air strikes. is there any indication what they're going after right now? >> they're targeting right now military compounds, headquarters, weapon storage areas. all the military compounds, the

air force, the warplanes. >> so essentially they're going pretty much after all of yemen's military assets, because the houthi rebels are now pretty much in control of the majority of what was essentially the military which was loyal to the president, is that correct? >> that is correct, john. saudi arabia does not care about that. because they can easily get those weapons, and they're warning that these weapons under houthi control could be used to invade saudi arabia. saudi arabia is trying to ensure that anything that is a threat in the future is damaged and destroyed. that is why the target right now are weapon storages and the headquarters of the military to ensure that their future is not

harmed by these weapons. >> is there any indication if these air strikes are simply a few sorties being flown or this is just the start of what is a prolonged air campaign, which could lead to further military escalation? >> i'll be honest with you, right now we don't know. hundreds of explosions, heavy, massive explosions have been heard over the last 15 minutes. so we can't leave the house, but we can call our officials and from what we're hearing, there's been a lot of damage, but we can only see the reality in the morning. >> okay. hakim, i guess we'll leave it there. hakim there giving us the picture from the ground which is not a good one at this point. thank you, hakim. >> thank you, john. we'll take short break. when we come back, we're learning about some of the 150 victims on the germanwings 9525.

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♪ just some of the images there of the crash site of germanwings flight 9525 in southern france. now these are some of the families traveling there to be near the scene. lufthansa says it's providing two special flights for relatives and friends. those flights from barcelona and dusseldorf will take off a few hours from now. >> we are learning a little bit more about the nationalities of many of the victims on board flight 9525. the list is still not complete yet. the germanwings ceo says they come from at least 18 countries, that's what we know so far. most from germany, which had 72 people on board, and spain which had 49 souls on board, as well.

>> this tragedy is being felt around the world. passengers from argentina, belgium, denmark, iran, israel, japan, mexico, the netherlands, uk, the united states, even venezuela. the information could change as authorities identify the remaining victims. the crash site has now become the epicenter of international grief. >> cnn's susan malvo has more on the faces behind flight 9525. >> reporter: we're learning more about the three americans, two in virginia who lost their lives here. emily and her mother yvonne, who was a government contractor. emily was a proud alumni of drexel university. on the facebook page, they said emily cared deeply for all those in her life. >> we are confirm that a third

u.s. citizen was on board the flight but not releasing the name at this time out of respect for the family. ♪ >> reporter: among the others silenced here, 4-year-old opera singer maria radner, who was traveling with her husband and baby. she had just completed performances in barcelona with her colleague, who died alongside her. >> translator: this is tearing a huge gap, and there will be scars left over. >> reporter: at this headmaster school in germany, they're mourning the loss of 16 young students and two instructors. one teacher was recently married, the other engaged. >> translator: they had plans for their life, and that was changed from one minute to the next. like a burst bubble. >> reporter: the school group had just finished an exchange program at this school in spain. outside, two students mourned

over their final photo with their friends. >> translator: on friday, we were with them all day on a field trip to the beach. they were really happy, because they had never seen the ocean. it's hard to believe. >> reporter: for many of the victims, death came in the prime of their lives. 28-year-old paul andrew, from britain, was studying hospitality and set to begin an internship next week. 29-year-old greg friday was traveling with his mother, who celebrated a birthday the day before the flight. >> that was our suzanne malvo reporting. the ceo of germanwings say thing is the darkest hour of the company's history. and the families now waking up to this twist about one of the pilots being locked out. >> the last fatal accident on lufthansa was more than 20 years ago when two people died in a fire. >> we're going to take a quick

break. coming up, a former u.s. prisoner of war is now charged with desertion. why those deployed with bowe bergdahl say justice is finally being done. also ahead, after several failed attempts by iraqi forces, air strikes on targets near tikrit by the u.s. stay with us. you're watching cnn newsroom. i've just arrived in atlanta and i can't wait to start telling people how switching to geico could save them hundreds of dollars on car insurance. but first, my luggage.

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this just in to the cnn

newsroom. saudi state tv reporting that saudi arabia is expected to contribute 100 warplanes and 150,000 soldiers to the operation in yemen. this is part of this military campaign, which began a number of hours ago. these air strikes were ordered by the new king of saudi arabia at midnight on thursday local time in saudi arabia. the saudis are saying they want to support the legitimate government of yemen, but they also see a very real threat from the houthi rebels who are taking control of most of that country. the saudis and others believe the houthis are backed by iran and see this as an attempt by iran to establish a base of influence on the border of saudi arabia, which is possibly one of the triggers. why this military action has taken place right now. the saudis did not say who was in that coalition, but we are getting word on a number of countries taking part. egypt, morocco, jordan, sudan,

kuwait, qatar and bahrain. this is all coming from this television report. also word that maybe pakistan and jordan and sudan are also willing to contribute ground forces and any kind of ground offensive. so clearly, this is a major operation, which is now ramping up. >> and the big question is, how is iran going to view all of this and do the houthi rebels have what it takes to fight back? >> what will the iranians do in response to that? because what the saudis have seen over the past couple of years, they've seen iran extend influence into iraq, lebanon, now into yemen. so this concern that the saudis have, and what many believe is a proxi war has just kicked off using yemen as basically a firing range. we are rick francona joining us with more on this. so we're get thing news now, 150,000 soldiers, 100 warplanes. this is just the saudi

continge contingent. what does that say to you? >> the saudis are taking this seriously and they're building a coalition, that they're going to go in there and fix this. they've committed to restore the legitimate government of yemen. i've been monitoring the arab press, and there's already a war of words going on between iran and all these arab states. so it's a big operation. >> we've had these reports of these air strikes, massive explosions rocking a number of cities across yemen. so we're not just talking about air strikes. 150,000 ground forces, enlisting the support of pakistan, jordan, sudan and others, this is going to go on for weeks? >> easily. this is just beginning. the air strikes will be the kickoff of the campaign. they'll want to knock down the air defenses and create a corridor which they can move their troops in there. but you're right, this is going

to be a major operation, it's going to take time to get the troops there. the plans has been going on for some time. if you lock at all the aircraft that were involved in this and the targets they hit, this isn't something they decided to do yesterday. as we talked earlier, the saudis don't have the intelligence and reconnaissance capability to determine these targets. they had to have had help, and i think it came from us. >> when we talk about an invasion force of 150,000 plus troops, compare this to the u.s. invasion of iraq. >> the u.s. invasion of iraq had -- the 2003 invasion had about 250,000 troops. we're looking at smaller numbers here, but you're looking at a smaller defense force, too. the houthis are not the iraqi army and yemen is not iraq. difficult terrain, hard to do, but i think 150,000 troops is about the right number.

>> so if we look at this operation, the first sort of major decision taken by the new king in saudi. we know the saudis have zero desire to occupy yemen. they could have done it in the past. they have avoided that place at great pains. so now that they're prepared to do this, what does that tell you about the threat that they fear is coming clearly not just from the houthi rebels but also from iran? >> exactly. they're looking at -- they perceive this as a threat from the iranians. they look at the houthis as nothing more than a proxi iranian force, just like we can look at hezbollah as a proxi iranian force in southern lebanon. so they feel there's a threat and they're going to do this before the situation gets worse. what they do not want is an iranian-run state on their southern border, because they already feel they have enough problems on their northern border with the iranians exercising a lot of power in

beirut, in damascus, in baghdad, and now with the houthis in yemen. it's a real problem for them. you have to give the saudis credit. they perceive a threat and are acting on it. >> pakistan, jordan and suzanne are willing to participate in ground offenses and just go over those countries again. uae, jordan, qatar, bahrain, contributing fighter jets into the air campaign. this is a big coalition. this just didn't happen overnight. this coalition building has been going on for some time and we didn't know about it. >> we didn't publicly know about it. i suspect we did, because as i said, i don't think the saudis or any of those air forces have the reconnaissance capabilities to develop all of those targets. i looked at the targets that were hit. these are the targets that you would want to hit. if i was an air campaign planner, this is what i would hit, all of those military

installations, the special forces and the air base. so this is a well executed first night of an air campaign. >> so they're talking about they want basically to get the houthis to the negotiating table so they can work out some way to restore the legitimate government of yemen. this looks like an occupation of yemen, get rid of the houthis and the iranian influence. that leaves the question of al qaeda in yemen, and also the new presence of isis there. do they deal with all three at once? >> i think they will, because the saudis have been very, very effective against al qaeda. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula used to be head quartered in saudi arabia, and the saudis kicked them out and they went to yemen, because the saudis were ruthless taking out al qaeda in their country, and that could be doing us a great

favor. >> thank you so much for being with us. >> sure. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, a black box from the doomed germanwings flight delivers some key information. but one clue is only adding to the mystery. be asked is e real question thao "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do.

welcome back, everybody. you're watching cnn live all around the world. i'm john vause. >> and i'm zain asher. we're following two breaking news stories right now. we have a new glimpse into the final moments of germanwings flight 9525 and raises more questions than answers. saudi arabia is launching a major military operation in yemen. saudi state tv says the saudis are calling up 100 planes and 150,000 soldiers in a coalition of ten countries in these military operations against rebels in yemen. but first, a stunning revelation in the crash of germanwings flight 9525. the plane's cockpit voice recorder indicates one of the planes -- one of the pilots rather was locked out of the cockpit when the plane went down. >> that's coming from "the new york times," and the paper says that pilot left the cockpit after reaching cruising

altitude. when he repeatedly banged on the door to get back in, there was no response from the other pilot. >> the plane then crashed into the french alps, killing all 150 people on board, and germanwings parent company lufthansa says right now they have no information to corroborate what the new york times is reporting, but they say they will look into it. earlier, i spoke with aviation correspondent richard quest. so richard, i never thought i would ask this question, but would you say now that cockpit doors are now too secure? >> we don't know the whole story of this, and it's all hinging in some sense on "the new york times" report and this mill tail official that leaked the detail supposedly from the cockpit voice recorder. it also depends, zain, on the procedures, not only by airbus and the equipment on the plane, but of germanwings. i'll give you an example. first of all, was the door

locked because it was part of the normal procedure? or was it locked when the other pilot came out, the one remaining wanted to lock it. secondly, why didn't a flight attendant go into the cockpit as many airlines do? and certainly, zain, post mh-370, there was this view that a pilot should never be alone in the cockpit for the simple reason either they could have a heart attack and drop dead or b, for the nefarious option. so as it's been portrayed so far, you have a situation where there's a pilot out of the cockpit, and for whatever reason, he can't use the emergency code to get back in again and the pilot inside has locked him out. >> if they do get their hands on the flight data recorder, what does that change? we know that one of the pilots was presumably locked out of the

cockpit. what did the flight data recorder change? >> it shows how the descent was initiated. it shows what inputs were made. it gives you a lot more information. but the cockpit voice recorder frankly will tell us a huge amount. for instance, why didn't the captain or which ever pilot was inside, why didn't they respond to the ground? is it because they didn't want to or because they couldn't? >> so many questions. we'll have to leave it there. richard quest, thank you so much. this new information is coming from the cockpit voice recorder, even though the device was damaged. earlier, richard quest spoke with david sousi and they explained how the equipment works. >> this part right here, let's do that. this part right here is only for transmitting and changing the analog data into digital data. so it's converter.

once that's done, it puts it into this box, which is made of stainless steel and very protected. >> so they managed to get some of the information from this. but how many channels? what does it do? what does it help them do if they didn't get the flight data recorder? >> there's about five channels in here, and there's five cards in here. those five cards transfer into here. and those five channels can give you so much information. there are different microphones throughout the cockpit. >> and daybreak is roughly 90 minutes away at that crash site, and rescue teams are bracing for another grueling day there. >> and as they comb the remote mountain slopes for clues and also the bodies of the victims, investigators are reporting some progress and officials are promising to do whatever it takes to get all the answers. >> reporter: a day after the crash, pieces of wreckage are

strewn across the mountains, hardly recognizable apart from the pink and orange of the germanwings logo. smoke still rises from the debris, as recovery teams faced a second day of harsh weather conditions. the pain staking operation to recover the remains of those on board flight 9525 already a huge challenge in the unforgiving terrain. the leaders of france, spain, and germany, the countries at the heart of the tragedy, traveled to the alps to meet rescue workers. their unity, a sign of the grief being felt on an international scale. speaking afterward with angela merkel and the spanish prime minister, president hollande said everything would be done to understand what happened to the plane. >> translator: we owe that to the families. we owe it to the countries concerned by this disaster. so france has activated very

significant means within the context of the inquiry so that we can do everything to learn about the causes of the disaster. >> reporter: the cockpit voice recorder has been recovered from the crash so it and usable audible material has been extracted from it. >> it was good news, and relief for us. we have been able to extract an audio file that we can use. but it's too soon to draw any conclusions with respect to what happened. >> reporter: as the wait for information continues, more is being learned about the people who were on board the flight. they were from at least 15 different countries, including two babies. a class of german exchange students and two opera singers. families are in mourning and airline staff in shock.

germanwings and its parent company lufthansa held moments of silence. and back in the alps, the small towns near the crash site are preparing to receive families of the dead. relatives who will make the pilgrimage into this region hoping to find answers. hala gorani, cnn, london. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, a u.s. soldier accused of abandoning his unit on the battlefield is now charged. also to come, tornadoes sweep through oklahoma and the outcome is disastrous and deadly. you can call me shallow... but, i have a wandering eye. i mean, come on. national gives me the control to choose any car in the aisle i want. i could choose you... or i could choose her if i like her more.

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welcome back. a journalist in yemen's capital has told cnn the city has been shaking with the sound of hundreds of explosions from saudi air strikes. saudi arabia says it's backed by a ten-nation coalition, launching a barrage of strikes on houthi rebels. and the saudi owned tv network says the saudis plan to use 100 planes and 150,000 soldiers in the new coalition they're leading into yemen. >> the military operation began wednesday as the shia rebels captured parts of the port city of aden and a nearby air base recently evacuated by u.s. special forces. there are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of yemen's

president, but as of wednesday night, he is still in yemen it's being reported. >> the rebels seized control of the capital back in january. and in iraq, u.s. military officials say the goal is to help iraqi forces take back tikrit, which has been in isis control since last june. is warning that a self-proclaimed islamic state -- >> he made those remarks on wednesday. he said isis is sending members into afghanistan to test vulnerabilities. during a later web cast, he vowed to defend his country. >> our goal is very clear.

the war is imposed on us. we are not seeking war, but god help the person who brings war to my children. let them not underestimate our resolve. we have defended this country for 5,000 years. we are going to defend it if we are engaged for another 5,000 years. >> moments before his speech to congress, a suicide bomber blew up a car near the afghan defense and finance buildings in kabul. at least six people were killed. u.s. army sergeant and former taliban prisoner of war bowe bergdahl has formally been charged with desertion. he could face life in prison if convicted. >> the decision comes nearly a year after president obama exchanged five taliban prisoners for bergdahl's release. some u.s. troops and veterans say his disappearance and search attempts to find him put american lives in danger.

ed lavandera looks back to when bergdahl vanished from the battlefield. >> reporter: the night bowe bergdahl disappeared in the summer of 2009, he was 23 years old. the army sergeant's gun, bullet proof vest and his night vision googles were found in his bunk. from that moment, the u.s. military would spend five years looking for and negotiating for his release. >> our commanders are sparing no effort to find this young soldier. >> reporter: it's a saga that still isn't over for the soldier, who is now 28 years old. when bowe bergdahl disappeared, he was stationed at a u.s. military outpost in southeastern afghanistan. he was supposed to be on a guard shift that night. this was his first deployment as a u.s. soldier, and he had been in afghanistan less than two months. other soldiers in his unit have described bergdahl as a deserter and a traitor to his country. >> i think he just wanted to go on an adventure without having

anybody to answer to. he wanted to go out and see afghanistan for himself without the army stopping him. >> reporter: bergdahl would end up in the hands of the taliban. intensive efforts to find him in the early days failed and before long, his captors would show off their prized captor in propaganda videos. >> this is exactly why -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: the u.s. government believed bergdahl was passed around between taliban captors and members of a network which could have taken him into pakistan. for bergdahl's mother and father in idaho, these videos were the only proof of life they would see of their son. frustrated by the slow frog in finding his son, bob bergdahl grew out his beard as a sign of solidarity and taught himself to

speak pashtu. he would later receive scathing criticism as a taliban sympathizer. in may of last year, after several years of negotiating, the obama administration agreed to release five taliban prisoners for bowe bergdahl. he was brought to this field in a remote area, and handed over to a u.s. special forces unit. one of the soldiers told bowe bergdahl on the chopper ride out, we've been looking for you for a long time. ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. a student who was expelled from the university of oklahoma for reciting a racist chant at a fraternity party bus issued an apology. >> that's right. he and another member of the fraternity were kicked out of school after this video when viral a few weeks ago. in it, fraternity members hurled

racial sures and refer to lynching. >> let me start by saying i'm sorry. deeply sorry. i'm so sorry for all the pain i've caused. i want you all to know that directly from me. although i don't deserve it, i want to ask for your forgiveness. there are no excuses for my behavior. i never thought of myself as a racist, and i never considered it a possibility. but the bottom line is the words that were said in that chant were mean, hateful, and racist. >> also, oklahoma, when we come back, twisters have reduced parts of the central u.s. to rubble. all the details in a few moments. stay with us.

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thanks for staying with us. we're following developments on two major stories right now. >> first, germanwings flight 9525 data from the cockpit voice recorder suggests one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the crash in the french alps. that's according to a report by "the new york times." a senior military official tells the paper the pilot can be heard trying to break down the door, trying to get back into the cockpit. but lufthansa says that it's looking into that report. they haven't confirmed it. a developing situation in

yemen where saudi arabia has launched a massive operation against houthi rebels. the saudi ambassador to the u.s. says more than ten countries have joined a coalition in this fight. saudi arabia has reportedly placed 100 warplanes and 150,000 soldiers. the threat of severe weather is diminishing, but the damage has been done by powerful storms in oklahoma. take a look at this video. imagine seeing this coming right at you. it is very scary indeed. this video was shot in sand springs, in suburban tulsa. >> an official says one person was killed wednesday when the storm system hit a mobile home park. rescue efforts there are continuing and officers are tending to those who need medical care. he describes conditions as deplorable at best. and tulsa was not the only area struck by a tornado on wednesday evening. about 100 miles to the southwest, another twister appears to have caused major damage to moore, oklahoma.

let's go to derek vandam. so we were saying just a few days ago, zero tornadoes so far in tornado season. but looks like we're making up for it now. >> terrifying to see some of that footage, of course, of tornadoes barreling down on tulsa, oklahoma. tulsa was not the only location that saw what is a probable tornado. this is moore, oklahoma. i want to just show you, they've had three, that's three extremely destructive tornados in the past 15 years. and this i-35 corridor that runs north and south has all seen these long trek tornadoes cross over top. we've seen what is likely another tornado that's done damage to a very similar location where even back in may of 1999 where the most powerful tornado ever recorded with wind gusts of 318 miles per hour crossed that very path. look at the video coming out of

that region. just exploding power lines. of course, we haven't confirmed this is a tornado, but it clearly is. the national weather service has to look at certain patterns in the debris field. but nonetheless, you can see just how destructive those storms can be. unfortunately it was ground zero once again for moore, oklahoma. look at the cloud tops, indicating these super cell thunderstorms moving across. you can see the eight tornado reports that occurred here. but we'll continue to monitor this area. fortunately the severe weather threat is diminishing rather quickly. john and zain? >> we'll continue to monitor that area indeed. thank you for watching, everyone. i'm zain asher. >> i'm john vause. our breaking news coverage will continue after the break.

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hello, everybody. you're watching breaking news from cnn. i'm john vause. >> and i'm zain asher. it's 8:00 in the morning in yemen where saudi led strikes have been going after rebel targets right now. >> more on that in a moment. but we begin with our other breaking news. a new development in the crash of flight 9525. data from the cockpit voice recorder shows one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the crash according to a report in "the new york times." >> the paper reports that you can hear he is trying to smash down the door. we don't know why one of the guys went out, but