At Least 225 Dead in Mexico Quake, Urgent Search for Survivors
COOPER: The story tonight in Mexico's earthquake zone centers on hours, minutes and lives. Yesterday's quake killed at least 225 people, many when the building they were in collapsed. That number includes 21 children killed in a Mexico City elementary school. Others may have survived but are still trapped in the rubble. That, of course, is the hope. CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now from the scene. What's the latest there tonight, Ed?</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson. What you're looking over my shoulder here, that is the scene of the collapse part of the school where rescue workers are continuing to work into the night. However, it's a bit of a confusing scene here tonight. There are mixed reports about exactly what is going on inside that rubble and any kind of official account really hasn't come out. There are some reports it's -- and then word had spread through the crowd and cheers erupted that perhaps a couple of people have been pulled out alive and then we're also hearing from Mexican television station reporting that perhaps there was a young girl that has still in the rubble but rescue workers have made contact with her. All of that we're still trying to decipher. Nothing official yet. But it's clear that those workers continue to crawl inside of that rubble, trying to find anyone who might still be alive.</s>LAVANDERA (voice-over): It's not until you stand this close to the collapsed school building that the horrific reality of this scene sinks in. We weave our way in and around hundreds of rescue workers who've descended on this elementary school to save anyone who might still be trapped inside the rubble. (on camera): This is the area where crews have been frantically working for the last 24 hours, trying to pull out survivors. Just look at the impact here of the building, crushing that car there. And you can see all of the workers that have been here for more than 24 hours now, trying to find survivors. This is the school where several dozen children were killed as the building collapsed down to the ground here. I'm speaking quietly because a lot of crews have been working and they're trying to hear for sounds of people inside the building. We're told that there might be a young girl they believe is still alive inside, and that's what these efforts are for right now. (voice-over): In the courtyard area of the school, hundreds of workers are moving debris away from the school under a banner that reads "unity creates strength". T Then a whistle cuts through the air and everyone stops. Total silence. This gives rescue teams crawling through the collapsed structure the chance to listen for survivors. (on camera): We can hear the sound of rescue workers as they work inside the collapsed part of the building. (voice-over): The work inside the building is treacherous, wooden pillars have been brought in to fortify what's left of the school. Hector Mendez is part of a volunteer brigade of rescue workers known as the Moles. He says his team arrived on the scene an hour after the school collapsed and the 70-year-old volunteer believes more people will be pulled out alive. (on camera): Do you think you'll be able to find children alive in there?</s>HECTOR MENDEZ, RESCUE WORKER: Yes, because the children, most times, they got there -- they got more chance to live than we old people.</s>LAVANDERA: You think so? Even a day?</s>MENDEZ: Yes, the boys -- the boys, they want -- they want to be alive, and I know that. And that's why we are working hard.</s>LAVANDERA (voice-over): Dramatic scenes are unfolding on the streets surrounding the school grounds. That's where we found a collection of names strung together on paper and clear tape. This is where Daniela Casals and a small team of volunteers help keep track of the names of the teachers and students who were inside the school.</s>DANIEL CASALS, VOLUNTEER: These papers, the blue one and the white one, was the people dead, and this is unfortunately.</s>LAVANDERA: Most of the buildings surrounding the school withstood the force of the earthquake, only this portion cratered in on itself, and rescue workers vowed to continue the search as long as it takes.</s>COOPER: Ed, will the rescue efforts continue throughout the night? Do they have lights and?</s>LAVANDERA: Yes, Anderson. We're looking here now. In fact, the lights just came on a downpour just fell on these rescue workers as well. Hopefully, that rain stays away. You know, obviously, the great concern about and you don't get the sense that any of these people will be leaving. But we were -- when we were there closer tonight, Anderson, just to several hours ago, surreal to be standing in the courtyard of that school and you could hear the muffled sounds of those rescue workers as they were crawling through there, trying to talk to the whoever might have been in there. It was really hard to make out exactly what was being said, but those muffled sounds of those rescue workers crawling through the debris was clearly being heard from where we were standing in that courtyard.</s>COOPER: It's just heartbreaking and difficult work. Ed Lavandera, thanks. Shortly before airtime, I spoke with the Christopher Edwards from the humanitarian group Youth with the Mission. He rode out the quake. He's trying to help rescue efforts tonight.</s>COOPER: Christopher, explain where you are right now and what's going on.</s>CHRISTOPHER EDWARDS, HUMANITARIAN, YOUTH WITH A MISSION: I'm in a little bit in the part south of the city, one of the main avenues called</s>COOPER: So, do they think that there are people trapped in the rubble still?</s>EDWARDS: They do have the suspicion that there are, that's why there's an effort. They've just been collecting some more smaller shovels or they can get into tighter places and they're just putting up another crane right now to help stabilize the roof.</s>COOPER: I heard you say that the in terms of rescue efforts, it's been what you call between chaos and hope. Can you explain what you mean by that?</s>EDWARDS: Yes, I think the chaos part comes because just so many people in such a large city and there's been -- it's not just one concentrated area. So, it's all over. So, we've been kind of -- I said we were playing Marco Polo earlier just because people would name a street or an area and then people just start running towards that sound or that area, and then we'd get there and they say, OK, there's too many people here so you have to go to the next place. But -- and in the hope comes from hearing of stories of some people getting come out, hearing stories -- and then just seeing the response of the Mexican people and people from other nations, different organizations, different backgrounds, just coming out and helping in full strength and everything that they do, whether it's giving food, helping for the dogs, helping get people out, moving things along. And there's just a lot of hope when you see people like that in such devastation.</s>COOPER: Christopher, if you can, could you turn your camera around just to kind of show us what you're seeing and explain what you were looking at?</s>EDWARDS: Yes, so just over the top of the red roof right here, you see three cranes sticking up holding our roof up, and there's a guy actually in the third cane that's just attaching some stuff to the rooftop, just sustaining it, that roof of that building holds a lot of solar powers and like solar water heaters, and then just surround us, you just see all the volunteers that are here waiting to see what they can do, a lot of them are just handing out water bringing tools and just waiting to see and what way they can respond.</s>COOPER: These volunteers, is somebody, you know, asking them to come or they just coming on their own?</s>EDWARDS: They're just coming on their own for the most part, and that's been one of the issues with the chaos is because I even saw some stuff early this morning on the social media sites saying, hey, wait before you come. If you're not already in this area, don't bring extra traffic because it was making everything congested. It took us close to two and a half three hours to get from an area to the south of the city when it usually would maybe take an hour. I mean, it is a large city. It would take a while to get down there on just on public transportation, but it took us almost three hours to get back.</s>COOPER: You also described the rescue efforts it's a bit like Marco Polo. How do you mean, that game?</s>EDWARDS: Just, in my mind, it's like you're blindfolded and you don't know exactly where to go and so you're just waiting to hear like the name of a street or a building or neighborhood, and people hear it and then they just take off running to go to try to find that area. And it's kind of a hit-and-miss whether you're actually needed there or not. We've had some false alarms even where people said, hey, go to this area and we go there and there's nothing wrong, and there's probably close to 500 or 1,000 people that have arrived to that area, and all I'm saying it's a false alarm. We actually need people in this area.</s>COOPER: Well, Christopher, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and wish you the best. Thank you.</s>EDWARDS: Thank you.</s>COOPER: A lot of people there are trying to help. Up next, breaking news out of Washington. What special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking from the Trump White House in the Russia investigation. The surprising request when we continue.