Search For Victims Continues
As Tanzanian police announce the arrests of 14 foreign nationals in connection with the deadly bombing at the American embassy there, rescuers discovered more victims of the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. The death toll has risen to 230, with many still missing, and thousands injured by the blasts.
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The Tanzania blast killed 10 people and injured at least 74. None of those killed were Americans.
A Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday that the U.S. had sent over 400 military and civilan personnel to east Africa with 140 tons of equipment to aid in rescue efforts. Resources sent included surgical teams, combat stress control experts, two Marine Corp anti-terrorism groups, and 200 units of blood.
The investigation into the bombing of the American embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, had suffered a setback earlier. CBS News learned that the security camera monitoring the embassy was not recording pictures at the time of the blast on Friday. The tape could have provided key clues in the investigation.
An eyewitness to the blast in Nairobi reportedly says the attackers exchanged gunfire with guards and threw a grenade before the main explosion.
The CIA reportedly thwarted five bomb plots against American embassies last year. According to The Washington Post, two of the plots were in the advanced stages. Bacon told CBS News that 30,000 threats are received against diplomatic installations every year, while thousands are received against
U.S. military personnel.
However, Bacon said that during the last decade, the number of attacks overall has declined.
"It's not just a matter of good luck, but vigilance," he said.
Meanwhile, rescue workers in Nairobi are working like robots CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports from Nairobi. Behind the masks, there is sadness and grief. The body may well be a friend, relative, a neighbor. There is determination, too, driven by the hope there may still be someone alive.
In spite of the fact that there has been no contact for 24 hours with the woman everyone now knows as Rose, they know where she is. They don't know what the chances are of finding her, or anyone else, but rescuers still hope against hope.
"We try to do it," said Yaacov Katz, an Israeli soldier who is part of the rescue team. "Now we get not any sign. But maybe she...is tired, she's in shock, but she still alive."
The one sign is bigger and bigger chunks of concrete are being pulled from the mound of debris. The rescuers want to get to the bottom of the pile. Small pocket are formed in basements, and it is there that people survive. It is also where the search ends.
"When every piece of concrete has been turned and every piece of rubble is looked under, you get to a cutoff point," said Red Cross spokesman John Sparrow.
The bodies of victims are mute testimony to the explosion. Some are mangled beyond recognition. Others have been found almost as if they were frozen, some with pens and telephones in their hands.
Reported by Allen Pizzey
©1998, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report