Sept. 11, 2001: Terrorist Attacks Strike America

By | September 24, 2001

Terrorists crashed two hijacked planes into the World Trade Center this morning, causing countless deaths and untold damage as the twin 110-story towers collapsed. The crashes occurred minutes apart just before 9 a.m., and were followed soon after by a commercial airliner exploding into part of the Pentagon.

“According to news reports, authorities are now trying to evacuate the 50,000 people who work in the twin towers, but many are thought to be trapped and the toll of human lives is already estimated in the thousands.”

—www.InsuranceJournal.com Breaking News, Sept. 11, 2001

As the smoke clears and New York picks itself back up, city officials have continued over the last two weeks the grim task of removing bodies from both towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While there have been a few stories of survivors being pulled from the wreckage in New York City, the efforts turned last week to recovery of the dead.

According to a Pentagon spokesman, no one could have survived the impact
when American Airlines Flight 77 from Washington to Los Angeles plowed into the building Sept. 11 shortly after 9 a.m. at some 345 m.p.h. As of Sept. 19, Pentagon officials listed the death toll at 189, including 64 people on the flight.

Meanwhile, in New York City, there were reports as of Sept. 19 of 1,700 injuries and more than 218 deaths resulting from the attack on the Twin Towers, which began construction in 1966 and were completed in 1970.

Estimated figures put those missing at around 5,422 in the rubble of the former WTC. The 110-story buildings tumbled less than an hour apart after being hit by an American flight and a United flight, both of which departed from Boston’s Logan Airport. The American Flight from Boston to Los Angeles was the first to crash into the North Tower, shortly followed by the United flight on the same route crashing into the South Tower.

More than 200 firefighters and 100 police officers were reported missing in the debris. Thirty-two firefighters were confirmed dead as of Sept. 19.

ôReaction to the events was immediate and serious across the country, as cities bunkered down under heightened security. Air traffic was halted, trading on Wall Street was suspended, sporting events were postponed, and businesses were closed.

On Sept. 14, Congress gave the go-ahead for $40 billion to be used in emergency aid for victims, along with consent for President Bush to use military force on those found responsible for the attacks.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters New York Aviation

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