hello, again. i'm rosemary church. thank for joining us. >> i'm errol barnett. hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world as we continue our breaking news coverage. two major stories we're following for you. first, what could be a major clue in the crash of germanwings flight 9525. reports that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the plane went down. air strikes in yemen. saudi arabia and a coalition of arab countries have begun bombing rebel forces opposed to the u.s.-backed president there. >> we will have more on the situation in yemen in moments. first we want to gaza strip in france where a new report says

one of the pilots of flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit before the plane descended and crashed there. "the new york times" says the information is contained on the cockpit voice recorder. >> the paper quotes a senior official who says "you can hear he is trying to smash the door down." we don't know yet the reason why one of the pilots went out, but what is sure is that at the end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door. chilling details. senior international correspondent jim bittermann is following the developments live from paris. just after 8:00 in the morning there. this new york times report add a very disturbing twist to what may have happened to the doomed

flight. has there been reaction in france? of course it is early, but what are people say figure they are reacting. >> reporter: no official reaction, but in fact, aviation experts saying if the report is true in fact answers a lot of questions. why of the plane for example put into -- purposely put into a dive, not a -- didn't fall out of the sky. it was controlled flight downward. and who put it in the dive. this would explain something with that. according to "the new york times" report, one of the two piles, not clear which, left the cockpit area after the plane hit cruising altitude and never got back to the cockpit. first knocked to get access. then according to "the new york times," he knocked harder and finally you could hear the sound of -- according to "the new york

times," hear the sound of someone trying to break down the door to the cockpit. of course the doors are armored. it's tell to do that. there's also a code which in an emergency a pilot can use to get back into the cockpit, entering an emergency code. it can be overridden if there's someone in the cockpit that pushes the mississippi and overrides the access to the cockpit. so some of this clears up some the mystery but add more elements of mystery. now i should say that one thing that happened in the past hour, the marseilles prosecutor has announced that he will hold a news conference at 12:30 local time, about 4.5 hours from now, in marseilles. it should be said that this is kind of a normal primary for a prosecutor in any kind of accident where there's fatalities, for a prosecutor opening an investigation. however, the spokesman for the prosecutor's office said he would specifically talk and specifically address this thoerk time report which, by the way --

"new york times" report which, by the way, has been confirmed by the press, the semi official news agency here. >> interesting to hear about the collaboration, as well. jim, i wanted to talk about the two pilots because normally at this point it has been made public the names of the pilots and background to the pilotsment o . one -- pilots. one had been there in service for ten years. we don't know much about the co-pilot. talk about what information is coming to the fore on that. >> reporter: lufthanza pointedly made the point that in fact the senior pilot had been will germanwings for ten years and had more than 6,000 hours of experience in an airbus 320. the co-pilot, they're a little less forthcoming about and have not identified in any way. there are reports out of germany this morning that in fact the co-pilot joined the company only in the end of 2013 and did

haven't as much experience. maybe hundreds of hours of experience flying. those that according to reports out of germany. we don't know much about either. neither has been identified. the ambassador from germany was on french radio this morning, and she said that she knew nothing further and of not commenting on the new york report or on the identities of the -- "new york times" report or on the identities of the pilot. the pressure is going to be on lufthanza and germanwings to explain exactly who these people are. normally as you say, they would have by now have been identified. >> indeed. highly unusual not knowing much about them at this point. jim bury man reporting there live from paris just after 8:00 in the morning. many thanks to you. cnn's anderson cooper talked about the report that one of the pilots locked out with aviation correspondent richard quest and former ntsb managing director peter golds. take a listen. this gives more credence to

the idea that something happened, some movement in the cockpit that nudged the side stick. remember, the airbus is a side stick, not a wheel. it nudges the side sticker on pushes the controls in some way and the process begins that the -- that can't be arrested because, obviously, the person's outside -- person outside -- >> peter, is that what would have had to have happened? that something would have had to have been hit to start the plane to descend like this? what is the process to actually get the plane to descend. say it's the -- person had some medical emergency, how much -- what does it take to get the plane to descend like that? >> it would not take much familiar they did have an emergency, we'll know that. there will be some sounds of that taking place. and richard, richard is right. it wouldn't take much. i mean, he could slump forward, and it has a side stick command. he could slump against the side stick and -- and push it forward. and that would probably do the

trick. >> we're going to bring in jeffrey thomas, editor-in-chief and managing director at airl e airlineratings.com. regular viewers will recognize him. he joins us from perth, australia, to talk about this. we are exploring "the new york times" report. the only new information that's really emerged these past 12 hours or so. one of the pilots was locked out and frantically tried to get in. this possibly on the flight voice recorder. what do you make of this? >> look, it's a very troubling development if you like. i mean, there is one explanation that there was a medical situation with the pilot remaining in there. they might have had a heart attack or something like that. however, with the side stick, even pushing or nudging it, my understanding is, that it wouldn't impact the aircraft. you actually have to disengage

the auto pilot because the plane is flying on auto pilot. and typically if someone was to follow have a -- to have a high pockia event, be overwhelm -- hypoxia event, be overwhelmed, the plane would ton a designated flight path. it's interesting in technical area to visit. the other scenario is that one of the pilots left the cockpit, was then outside, was then locked out, and deliberate action by the other pilot to take the plane down which has happened before. certainly it take the onus of the investigation away from the airplane itself as being at fault. looks direct iii human factors, elements of the two pilots. >> that's interesting. i should let our viewers know, on the right are live pictures from the french alps.

you saw a helicopter circling there. this as investigators of -- crash investigators and criminal investigators deployed to the treacherous crash location. so let's move a point further. with the earlier information on the cockpit voice recorder, how much might it change what investigator are looking for when it comes to debris or the pilots' backgrounds? >> certainly they would want to delve far more deeply into the pilots' backgrounds, any issues in their lives, any health issues in their lives. something that might have triggered a health event, heart attack or something like that. or a troubling background that may have been a clue to a more sinister development. i still want to get the flight data recorder -- they still want to get the flight data recorder because there's still a possibility that one of the pilots life the cockpit to

investigate a technical issue. i can't see that happening, but it may well be. what it really does require is the french investigation team to release the full transcript of the cockpit voice recorder so the public can be -- and professional in the industry can be brought into -- into play here. you know, releasing fragments is a very troubling development and -- it's confusing to try and work out when we get frog. of information. >> we're just watching as helicopters there are at the staging area. i understand they are about to begin their day of heading to the crash location. as we watched that live picture, what do you think of the behavior on the part of lufthansa and germanwings acknowledging that these were lufthanza piles but not releasing their name? in previous accidents on different airlines, we would have known the information now. >> indeed. and i think a full and frank

disclosure as fast as possible is essential. and we saw this with mh370. tremendous moon of suspicion of what has happened with that flight. a lot of that has come from the handling of the tragedy in the first couple of weeks by malaysia airlines and more in particular the government of malaysia and its relevant authorities. and that's fueled enormous distrust by the relatives of those victims. we must urge lufthanza to give us a frank explanation of why we haven't got those pilots' names and their backgrounds and their experience, particularly with this revelation of this cockpit voice recorder. >> jeffrey thomas, editor-in-chief, managing director at airlineratings.com. thank you very much for joining us from petersburg, australia, and providing your -- from

perth, australia, and providing your insights. we, of course, will have more on the crash of the germanwings flight coming up including a live report from the staging ground for the recovery operation you saw there. the recovery operation continuing this morning. we want to turn now break in the middle east. saudi arabia has launched military operations against houthi rebels in yemen as the country edges toward the brink of civil war. new video from houthi tv shows images of damaged buildings in the capital of sanaa. the station claims the attacks have killed women and children. >> meanwhile, the houthis have opened fire on saudi jet fighters near the capital of sanaa. the saudi ambassador to the u.s. says military action was the country's final option. >> objective is to defend the legitimate government of president hadi from the takeover attempts by the houthi militias in yemen. the use of force is always the

last resort. and it is with great reluctance that we took the step along with our partners in the gcc countries, scas long as outsidef the gcc countries. >> a journalist is in sanaa where he says explosions have been rattling the city. listen to this. >> reporter: started off with that massive explosion that shook all the houses sanaa. each person who heard the explosion thought that the explosion was next to his own residence. whale it was -- covered the entire 40 kilometers of sanaa. this happened in other areas. and yemens are worried -- yemenis are worried that in the long term where should they go to evacuate the families of sanaa. >> a member of the houthis' political wing has fiery words for saudi arabia. you see them here on the screen. he tells cnn "this is a clear

aggression, and we will respond by a counteraggression. the saudi move will unite all the people against the saudis, and the kingdom will pay the price." let's take a break. ahead, a seemingly insurmountable task resumes in the french alps. a live report on the flight 9525 recovery effort is just ahead. plus, a scary sight in the central u.s. power flashes light up the night sky as a suspected tornado moves in. the latest after the break.

heartbreaking images there. we welcome our viewers back from across the globe. and media reports say one of the pilots of flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed. >> the cockpit voice recorder indicates that when he tried to get back in, there was mow response from the other pilot. the subpoena is up, and search crews are getting back to work in the french alps. more than 600 people trying to pinpoint the victims' remains and the flight data recorderment erin mclachlan joins us from the staging area where all this is taking place. and erin, as though search crews

work despre-prep lly -- desperately to recover the remains of those on board, the relatives and friends await word of whether their loved ones have been found. what details do you have on the timing of that? >> reporter: hi, rosemary. let me step out of the shot here to show what's going on at the staging area. the first choppers of the day, four have arrived. they landed just over that way. every day around this time officials have been gathering for a morning meeting to talk about the day ahead before boarding the choppers again and setting out for that crash site area. we expect the -- this all-important body identification process to also continue. yesterday they removed the first of the human remains from the crash site. it's a process that's expected

to take days. the identification process, days if not weeks it's seen as critical to the family and friends. the identification of the bodies as well as the repatriation of the victims. the family and friends, of course, as you mentioned will be arriving today. lufthanza, the parent company of germanwings, has organized special flights from barcelona and dusseldorf this morning. they'll be arriving in marseilles and bussed here. they've set up special centers, staffed with psychologists and caretakers. the idea is so they can be as close to the crash site, as close to their loved ones as possible. >> indeed. and of course we have talked a lot about the difficult terrain and how challenging it is to get to the crash site.

talk to us about the difficulties for recovery crews and how dangerous the work is. >> reporter: the crash site is in an extremely remote location. accessible really only by air. what they've been doing is they've been winching the workers down on to the site. because the area is so steep, they've been tethered together via rope. really a priority for them right now is to find that very important flight data recorder. we understand they found the casing but not the recorder itself, a critical piece of the puzzle, especially in light of media reports citing sources close to the investigation that they now believe based on the information they managed to recover from the flight data recorder that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit. but there are some key questions

that remain and not sure where they left the cockpit in the first place, also not clear why the pilot that remained inside did not open that door. those are all things that authorities now no doubt are trying to figure out. >> indeed. so many unanswered questions in this. it is puzzling for sure. reporting there from the staging area. many thanks to you. still to come on cnn, after several failed tampa by iraqi forces, a minimum wage -- attempts by iraqi dpoeforces, a major offensive. accused of abandoning his unit on the battlefield, now charged. a look at the punishment bowe bergdahl could face. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan.

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welcome back. houthi tv report women and children in yemen have been killed in air strikes launched by saudi arabia wednesday. >> the royal saudi air force has taken out air defenses and destroyed houthi fighter planes. >> for more on the situation in yemen, we want to bring in senior international correspondent nick paton walsh, he is watching the situation in yemen from kabul, afghanistan. of course, you have recently been in yemen. know what's happening on the dwlound. what is the latest on the houthi

targets that have been hit so far, and the military response from the rebels? and talk to us as well about the countries that are involved in this coalition. >> reporter: we're in the middle of a war, and the saudi press agency saying they have taken out all houthi air defenses. that doesn't mean that the houthis which until months ago in fact were a loose group of shia movements, as well. they didn't suddenly match up an air deaf system their own. -- air defense system of their own. they, according to the saudis, have been destroyed as have the saudis including missile batteries, an air base has also been hit, as well. so the saudis very much claiming the first wave of strikes is metered to most degree what the houthis are able to do in terms of above yemen's own airspace. let it's move on now to the broad -- let's move on now to the broader significance of what

this means. we've seen months of turmoil in yemen. the houthis mostly backed by iran. many say predominantly shia. efficient in sweeping across the country want booting out of sanaa, as we saw ourselves in januari. the government of president hadi. and then moving across the country, heading toward the southern port city of aden where president hadi was said to been hiding out. according to who you believe, may or may not still be there. the saudis anxious to see an iranian-backed group sweep to power. they have a leather border with yemen. they've always -- a lengthy border with yemen. they've always been concerned. they've been saying that air strikes began, what have been in the early hours of this morning in and around sanaa, explosions heard. and the saudis making it clear that they have the gulf nations, most of them, behind them here. they left qatar, kuwait, the

united arab emirates joining in this operation. though it's not clear whose planes are flying in the sky. at the egypt that has said that they are willing to offer military and political help. we don't quite know what stage that reached now. a seismic moment where we have an iran-backed militia, the houthis, very effective in sweeping control in yemen, under attack by the saudis, entirely almost sunni nation there in terms of their military and ruling figures. and then, of course, many deeply concerned about another chapter of sunni and shia violence in the middle east at this stage. >> nick paton walsh monitoring air strike ins in -- air strikes from his post in kabul. many thanks. we're watching developments out of iraq. warplanes from the u.s.-led coalition have joined with iraqi ground forces now in an effort to retake the city of tikrit from isis.

air strikes began wednesday at the request of the prime minister. we have more from baghdad and are discussing the latest information. the u.s. had previously allowed iraqi forces backed by iran lead the charge in tikrit. why is that calculation changed the past few days? >> reporter: that's the big question, errol. a lot of people are asking this question. and this is one that the u.s. administration and the u.s. military will have to answer at this point. for the past three weeks, they have stayed out of the battle for tikrit. it has been led by a predominant force made up of shia militias and volunteers and some iraqi forces. and they have been backed by iran. the question is why is the united states getting involved, why is the coalition joininging

the fight. of course we heard the prime minister yesterday announcing that the liberation of tikrit is in its final stages, coordinating with the same the u.s. coalition air strikes have begun in tikrit, possibly here we're going to see some sort of split in this fragile iraqi alliance between the iraqi military and these predominantly shia forces that have done the ground work in this battle for tikrit. the leadership of these militias have maintained and insisted that they do not need the support from the coalition in this fight. they say that they have made advances. they say that they have encircled isis militants in the heart of tikrit, in the city center. but they have not gone in for the past ten days. wee seen what they've described as a tactical pause saying that the advance itself may have been stopped, but the battle for tikrit is ongoing. will be interesting to see today

how these forces are going to react to the announcement by the united states. >> it's important because tikrit essentially lays on the road to mosul, much larger, more strategic city that isis has control of. how far off is the effort to recapture the city from isis? >> reporter: there's been a lot of talk about this operation to recapture mosul, iraq's second largest city. iraqi officials we've spoken to say this is not going to happen really soon. there are a number of thing that have to happen, that have to come into place before they are able to launch such a major offense identify a city of two million people. now, tikrit, what is going on now, this is a major test for the iraqi forces. how they're going to take tikrit, how that goes is seen as a test. this is the first major city

they've tried to recapture from isis after the group took over tikrit last june in its advances in northern iraq. errol? >> reporting live from baghdad. just past 10:30 in the morning there. thanks very much. we'll update you all on our breaking stories after this break. stay with us.

hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. we're following two major breaking news stories for you this hour. first, jordan is now the latest country to pledge support in a saudi-led operation against yemen. saudi arabia launched military operations against houthi rebels

in the country wednesday. it claims the first round of air strikes have already knocked out houthi air defenses. the houthis, meanwhile, have opened fire on saudi jet fighters near the capital of sanaa. media reports say one of the pilots of germanwings flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed. the cockpit voice recorder indicates the pilot left the cockpit. and when he tried to get back in, there was no response. germanwings' parent company is looking into the reports. that voice recorder has some important clues, but there's one more so-called black box that is still missing this hour. >> that's right. finding the flight data recorder will also be crucial to trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. we have more. >> reporter: this is the second strongestically investigators have in their hand. the exterior of germanwings flight 9525's cockpit voice recorder looks damaged, but french authorities revealed

they've had some success. >> very glad that the first flight recorder has been retrieved yesterday, and the french authority confirmed a few hours ago that one of the audio streams is readable. >> reporter: the cockpit voice recorder captured audio up to the moment of impact. it will provide critical information like whether the pilots were talking in the minutes leading up to the crash. what were they saying and what else was happening in the kro--e cockpit. >> they're prepared to work with that they've got for information's more than just the voice. they can hear what switches are being thrown and buttons being pushed. they can tell a lot about what's going on in the cockpit from that listening device. >> reporter: flight delight took off at ten. 01 -- at 10:01 from dusseldorf bound for -- from barcelona bound for dusseldorf. the plane reached a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, it descended for ten minutes.

the plane disappeared from french radar when it was at around 6,000 feet. investigators they the descent appeared controlled. >> the curve is compatible with an aircraft controlled by pilots, except for the fact that we can't imagine pilots consciously sending an aircraft into a mountain. but it may also be compatible with an aircraft which is controlled by an automatic pilot. >> reporter: finding the plane's second black box will be critical to unlock the mystery of what brought down the jet. on the flight data recorder, investigators will get a second-by-second breakdown. how the plane's systems were functioning. was everything working, or was there mechanical failure. the status of the search nature critical piece of explain unclear. france's president said this -- >> translator: a second black box is being looked for.

the box is outside -- the out frame has been found, but unfortunately not the black box itself. at this moment there are men in the field searching. >> reporter: a claim french investigators seem to dispute. >> translator: those rumors are not at all confirmed. we have not localized the black box. we have not found debris of the black box. >> reporter: even if the remains of the flight data recorder are not in one piece, data may still be retrieved. it's located in the tail of the plane. the box is encased in stainless steel, and the memory card containing the valuable information is wrapped in thermal installation, designed to withstands impacts 3,400 time the force of gravity. can survive flames up to 2,000 degrees for an hour and can withstand extreme cold.

cnn, washington. while questions about what happened are haunting investigators, the victims are being mourned. the town of haltern in germany is trying to come to grips with the loss of a group of high school student and their two teachers. our diana magnay is there. to be noted, this is a small town. everyone knows those who were kimmed in the crash. talk about -- killed in the crash. talk about how they're coming to term with this devastating news at this time. >> reporter: rosemary, this definitely is a town in mourning. the see the memorial that students have laid to their fallen classmates behind me. all morning, all yesterday they were coming and putting down flowers, lighting candles. it's a similar story in the church, in the middle of town where this is -- where there is

commemrance to those who died. 16 children gone. the school has published the names of the 16. 16-year-old students, 10th grade, on this exchange to spain. a spanish language exchange. the spanish exchange students were here last november. there was a mass held in the spanish town yesterday for the students. there are psychologists, trauma counselors helping the children. as more and more details emerge of all the people on the flight. we know that there were three u.s. citizen on this, two of woman a mother and daughter. we know there were three british citizens. we know that there were citizens from a range of country from japan, venezuela, argentina. many people affected by the terrible tragedy. >> hard to grasp. reporting from haltern in germany.

many thanks. still to come on cnn, a u.s. soldier-turned-war prisoner is charged with desertion. why bowe bergdahl's former team leader feels justice is finally being served. many wbut hope...ms come with high hopes, doesn't work on wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula... to work on fine lines and even deep wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®.

u.s. army skpapth former taliban p.o.w. bowe bergdahl has formally been charged with desertion. >> bergdahl was released in a controversial prisoner swap last

year, you'll recall no doubt. he disappeared from the battlefield in afghanistan in 2009, then spent five years in captivity. now he could spend the rest of his life in prison. barbara starr has the latest. >> reporter: sergeant bowe bergdahl released by the taliban after being held captive for five years could face imprison. at home. the army now charging him with desertion and "misbehavior before the enemy. engaging in "shamefully abandoning his unit." two of the most serious counts in the military justice system. bergdahl will now face a so-called article 32 proceeding. the military equivalent of a grand jury jury. the next step could be a full trial. >> impossible confinement for life. >> reporter: securing a desertion conviction could be tough. desertion requires evidence he never intended to return. >> desertion would imply that he

would be working with the enemy and had a preconceived plan to join enemy forces. that's going to be manufacture difficult to prove. >> reporter: especially difficult given what national security adviser susan rice said after berlg dam was traded for five senior taliban prisoners who were held -- bergdahl was traded for five senior taliban prisoners who were held in guantanamo bay. >> he served with honor and distinction and will have the opportunity to learn what has transpired. >> i miss them, and i'm afraid that i might never see them again. >> reporter: just hours after u.s. commandos got bergdahl back in exchange for the taliban five, president obama appeared in the rose garden with bergd l bergdahl's parents. the commander in chief welcoming a hosoldier home. >> he wasn't forgotten by his country because the united states of america does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind. regime bergdahl's former team leader saw a very different

soldier. >> he did talk about how he did not agree with the war effort in afghanistan. >> reporter: some of his former teammates could be called to testify at a trial. some believe several soldiers lost their lives looking for bergdahl. >> i believe the fact of the matter is whether those soldiers were -- when those soldiers were killed, they would not have been where they were at if bergdahl had not left. >> reporter: barbara starr, the pentagon. we'll turn to the breaking news coming out of yemenment want -- out of yemen. what is said to be some of the aftermath of the saudi royal air force strikes in the capital, sanaa. saudi arabia's leading a coalition of ten countries, mostly gulf states, in trying to free parts of yemen from houthi control. now egypt is one of the ten nations pledging support to the saudi-led coalition. egypt's foreign ministry tells the state news agency that coordination is already underway and could involve air, naval,

and ground forces if necessary. our correspondent, ian lee, joins us from cairo to talk about this. it's a stunning development, especially the possibility that there may be ground forces from egypt being used. what do we know about egypt's role in yemen now? >> reporter: that's right. it is quite a unified front against these houthi fighters from the gcc, the gulf, as well as egypt. egypt historically has played an active role in yemen politics, going back decades. they've sent ground troops in there before to fight. we're hearing that the possibility of egyptian troops again could be going to yemen. we haven't heard if there are any ejipg troops there. -- egyptian troops there. if there have been air strikes by the egyptian air force. the president's office as well as the military hasn't said anything. what we're getting now is from state tv. and what they're saying is that

egypt is politically and militarily supporting the efforts taking place in yemen. they said that the ground troops could be deployed if possible. also they're saying their navy could be used to battle the houthis now. egypt's navy not big in world terms, but when you talk about middle east, they do have one of the largest navies in the region. and they are the largest military in the region. they have always been strong supporters of the saudi government. saudi gets egypt a lot of money. egypt has given them military support. seeing saudis' efforts going into yemen, it's no surprise that egypt is with them. >> you have the fear with iran backing the houthis and saudi arabia with its allies with the air strike that this could be the beginning of a much longer and larger proxy war. ian lee live from cairo this

morning with details on gyp's involvement. thank you very much. >> reporter: another story we're watching in the central u.s. one person is dead, and the number of people injured is still unclear at this point after violent weather roared through parts of oklahoma wednesday. a resumed tornado hit sand springs in suburban tulsa, demolishing a mobile home park. >> a possible tornado also caught a -- cut a swath of destruction in moore. this is a suburb of oklahoma city. schools in moore were closed for thursday because of the extensive damage that you see some of there. a truck flipped over even. these were the first tornadoes reported in the u.s. for the month of march. an unusually late start. meteorologist pedram javaheri to talk to us about how this may have been a tornado, but the numbers have been low. >> the numbers have been extremely low. we've been fortunate, and you touched on more there -- on moore there. moore it one of the most tornado-prone cities in the world. this is the fourth tornado to hit in 16 years.

remarkable when you think about that and see the bad luck that has to come into play for places to be lined up over and over again. we'll show you talking about 28 tornadoes in all of 2015. the graphics show you up until tuesday's date, nationally, 28 tornadoes. on wednesday, seven come across from the states of oklahoma into arkansas. the first tornado of the states respectively for the entire year occurred on wednesday. this is what we're talking about. may 3rd, 1999, a tornado up toed down if moore, oklahoma, across the i-35 corridor south of the city itself. that tornado took with it 44 lives. it had a wind gust at 318 miles per hour. that is over 500 kilometers per hour. easily the highest wind gust ever observed on earth because of the tornado. we had another in 2013. in another 2003. and of course this one in 2015 on wednesday. all of them kind of zig zagging near the perimeters of the city. remarkable to think one city could be struck so many times. they're in the heart of where

this takes place. the thunderstorm activity across southern and central portions of the united states, as well. we had 150 reports of wind ripe related damages, hail-related damages. seven reports of tornadoes. these will be verified over the next 24 hours. sometimes they come down and become a lower number as officials get out there. we have severe thunderstorm watches across oklahoma, eastern arkansas. the month of march, 80 tornadoes. historically what you would see across to the united states. goes up to 155 in april, peaks out, that's 1,100 tornadoes every single year in the united states. by contrast you take other countries around the world, nowhere near that, on the order of 30 to 50 at best. the united kingdom gets about 25 tornadoes per year. >> tornado alley gets 1,100 roughly? >> the majority in tornado alley, yeah. >> stunning. >> frightening and unpredictable. many thanks. soldiers and police in vietnam have joined the rescue

effort after a construction scaffold collapsed wednesday. state tv says 14 workers were killed and 30 others injured when the huge structure gave way in the central province. >> rescuers could be seen digging through the rubble, searching for body and possible survivors in all of this. many of the injured reported in kriblth condition. this -- critical condition. this occurred in a seaport complex owned by taiwan's group. coming up, remembering the victims of flight 9525. they came from all walks of life and around the world. some of their stories are just ahead. i'm only in my 60's.

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and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. welcome back, everyone. the 150 people who died in the crash of germanwings flight 9525 are being mourned now across europe and beyond. >> they came from all walk of life, and from a total of 18 countries. or anderson cooper has some of their stories. >> reporter: a moment of silence for opera singers maria radner and oleg brynak outside barcelona where the two had performed in the production of "s" sigfri sigfried." "both returning home to dusseldorf. ♪ 34-year-old maria of born there, and on the plane with her husband and 18-month-old baby.

♪ >> oleg, 54 years old, was part of a german opera country based in the city. both internationally known singers. the opera world mourning the loss of the performers, both professionally and personally. >> i broke the news to the ensemb ensemble, and we had a pea anna direction rehearsal of "aida. "i summoned everyone to the stage and told them the tragic news. and they were stunned. people started crying. so that -- we couldn't go on with the rehearsal. ♪ >> reporter: three americans were also on board the flight. two of them mother and daughter. emily selkey, a recent college graduate, of traveling with her mother, yvonne, a u.s. government contractor. emily of a music industry major in college who graduated with honors. she recently worked with a company that provides office spaces. emily's distraught father told

"the guardian" the two loved traveling together and loved each other's company. in a statement the family said they were deeply saddened, calling emily and yvonne two wonderful, caring, amazing people who meant so much to so many. another pair of family members traveling kindergarten, carol friday and her son, greg, from australia. they were on holiday together in europe. 29-year-old greg wanted to find a job teaching english in france. carol just celebrated her 68th birthday on monday, the day before the crash. the family of carol and greg said they were in deep disbelief and crippled with sadness. >> they will forever be with us in our hearts, memories, and dreams. >> reporter: marina bondres lopez belio was in spain for a fume and was on her way home to the u.k. she was traveling with her 7 month old baby, julian. moo rena bought their -- marina bought their tickets at the last minute. she just wanted to get home as soon as possible. paul andrew bramley finished his

first year studying hospitality and management in switzerland. he spent a few days in barcelona with friends and was on his way home to the u.k. with a stopover in dusseldorf. paul was about to start an internship in his home country next week. his parents said he was a kind, caring, and loving son. he was the best son, his mother said, he was my world. also on board the plane, 16 students and two teachers from the same high school in germany returning home after a week in spain for a spanish language exchange program. the headmastert of the school said he first hoped the students missed their flight but received the news that all of them were on board. the community left stunned. >> anderson cooper there. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. "early start" is next for those of you in the states. for everyone else, it's "cnn newsroom." slept... you're not you. tylenol® pm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. we give you a better night.

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locked out of the cockpit. reports claiming one of the pilots of germanwings 9525 could be heard desperately trying to get back in before the plane crashed into the alps. this morning, the mystery deepens. what was the other pilot inside the cockpit doing. this as we learn new information about those on board. we are covering all angles. welcome