USA: File footage marks fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

Record ID: 498697

  • Title: USA: File footage marks fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
  • Date: 6th September 2006
  • Summary: (AM) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA (FILE) (REUTERS) COLLAPSE OF THE NORTH TOWER DUST CLOUD OVERTAKES CAMERA
  • Embargoed: 21st September 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA56DSVUVVFH4784IJOI2WVKTGE
  • Story Text: Next Monday (September 11, 2006) will mark the fifth anniversary of the day hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
    Armed with boxcutters, Islamic militants stormed the cockpits of four airliners and took over the controls. Two airlines struck the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York and one struck the Pentagon building in a Virginia suburb of Washington DC.
    On the fourth flight, also bound for the nations capital, passenger fought back at the hijackers and it crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
    The attacks on the World Trade Center killed almost 3,000 people, which included 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers.
    The first plane, American Airlines flight 11 from Boston, hit the North Tower at 8:46 on a sunny clear day. Sixteen minutes later United Airlines flight 175, struck the South Tower.
    It is believed hundreds died on impact from the first strike. Those who worked on floors above the collision point found themselves trapped, as emergency stairways became impassable.
    Many of those who died were first responders, firefighters, police and other emergency workers, who climbed the stairwells looking for people to rescue.
    The South Tower was the first to fall at 9:59 am Eastern time. 614 people are believed to have died in the South Tower. 29 minutes later, at 10:28 am, the North Tower fell. 1,402 died in that tower's collapse.
    The World Trade Center was home to many financial firms, including Cantor Fitzgerald. That firm lost 658 people alone on 9/11, the most from any single firm or group.
    People from 115 nations died on 9/11. Of the 2,749 who officially died related to the World Trade Center attacks, the remains of only 1,588 have yet been identified.
    The attacks of 9/11 were also aimed at the capitol of the United States. Hijackers struck the Pentagon building, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defence. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:43 am Eastern time, shortly after planes had hit the World Trade Center.

    184 people were killed at the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia.
    On May 16, 2006, the Pentagon released surveillance video showing the plane hitting the Pentagon. The plane was taken from a Pentagon security camera.
    The attack resulted in a mass evacuation of the Pentagon and other federal buildings in Washington D.C. Rumours swirled that other planes were headed to attack the nation's capitol.
    An additional hijacked plane aimed at the nation's capitol, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania southeast of Pittsburgh after passengers attempted to overpower their assailants. 40 people were killed when the plane went down in the field, leaving a gaping hole in the ground.
    The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were planned and carried out by an Islamic militants affiliated with the group al-Qaeda. The group's spiritual leader, Osama bin Laden, ordered the strike because of United States support of Israel and the government of Saudi Arabia.
    Newspaper headlines on the morning after the attacks proclaimed that the United States in a state of war. Jet fighters flying overhead attested to this, signified a stepping up in security after 9/11 that is still in place today.
    Just 26 days after 9/11, the U.S. launched its first attacks on Afghanistan and its Taliban regime, which gave safe harbour to bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register