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| Fr. Sebastian Thottippattu |
Today, September 11, as the United States of America marks the 25th Anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in world history on innocent people in the World Trade Centre in New york, I recall my visit to U S A in the year 2000 on a fund-raising preaching ministry for the diocese of Guwahati. During this trip I had the opportunity to visit the World Trade Centre, built between 1966-1973 at a coast of 900 Million Dollars, and to go up to its summit on the 107 th floor .
In August 2001 I passed by it and saw it towering in the skyline at some distance. In September when I returned from Australia to Guahatti, I saw to my horrer on TV live the same World Trade Centre as it was being attacked by terrorists using a passenger plane as a missible. Undoubtedly, It was the biggest blow to U S A and the World was the same again since then. More than 2000 people perished that day in the two towers whilst more than 15000 escaped to tell the world of their miraculous escape from certain death. they contained tales of valor and heroism of people who went the extra mile to rescue and save people, regardlessof their own safty, particularly the firemen.
Today 25 years after this most appalling incident in human history after the Holocaust, we cannot overlook the relevance of its message in our own lives, faced with tragedy and pathos that continue to make headlieseach day. 9 /11 is forever the stark reminder to everyone of the posibility of the unexpected end of one's mortal existence on the earth, however safe and secure one might seem to be in real time. On the otherhand, the truth of the divine plan to one's existence striking us home with absolute clarify cannot be overlooked.
On September-11, 2026, the United States of America marked the 25th Anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in world history on innocent people in the world trade centre in New York. The chronicle of events as they unfolded to everyone's horror was as follows:
At 8 : 46 a. m - American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked after departing Boston , strikes the North Tower (1 W I C ) between approximately floors 93 and 99 traveling at 730 km per hour. The impact destroys or severely dameages several floors and cuts numerous stairwells. Hundreds of people on and above the impact floors are immidiately trapped. A Massive fire begins, feuled by Aviation fuel and office contents. People below the impacktzone begin evacuating down the stairwells .
9:3 : 11 am . - United Airlines flight 175 hits the South Tower between approximately floors 77 and 85. The impackt is witnessed live on Television and confirms that the attacks are deliberate acts of Terror. The south Tower is badly damaged, but importantly , some stairway routes through the impackt area remain passable. Many occupants who had initiaally been told to remain in their offices now begin evacuating.
9:05: - 9 -15.am - Emergency response begins.
New York City emmergency services mobilize on an enormous sacle. The NEW YORK CITY fire department ( F D NY) sends hundreds of firefighteres and officers into the towers. Eventually they turn out to be the heroes of the rescue operation that was carried out on an unimaginable scale. Many of those rescued fro the clutches of the death literally saw angels in humen flesh saving them after they had met the face of evil through the horrifying experiences they were going through. Police officers, Port Authority personnel, paramedics and other emergency workers enter the complex. The towers elevators are largely unusable because of fire, structural damage and flooding from reptured water systems. Firefighters begin dozens of flights of Stairs carrying heavy equipment.
9:37 a.m. - Pentagon attacked.
American Airlines Flight 77 strkes the Pentagon in Virginia. Althogh outide the W T C complex, this confirms the attackes are the part of a coordinated terrorist operation. 9:45- 9: 55 am - Evacuation continues . Thousands of People are descending the saircase. The south Tower, despite being struck second, is already undergoing a massive evacuation. Some people in the North Tower continue descending while firefighters climb upward. Emergency personal repeatedly warn occupents to evacuate. 9:59 am -South Tower collapses. After burning for approximately 56 minutes, the south Tower suddenly begins to collaps. The upper floors descend into the floors below, producing a rapidly progressing collapse. The tower is destroyed in roughly 10 seconds. A huge clod of dust and debris spreds through Lower Manhattan. Peole still inside the building, including firefighters and other emergency workers, are killed.Remarkably, some people who were below the impact zone managed to escape the collapsing building. 10: 03 am. -
United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in Pennsylvania.
Flight 93, believed to have been heading toward Washington,D C , crashes near Shanksvilla, Pennsylvania , after passengers and crew attempt to regain control. This is not directly connected to the W T C site but is part of the same day's attacks. 10: 07: -10:20 am- Evacuation and rescue efforts continue. Surviviors emerge from the debris field around the South Tower. Firefighters and police continue searching for the people in around the complex. The North Tower remains on fire and severely damaged. Many firefighters and other emergency personal who had entered the North Tower do not yet know that the South Tower has collapsed.
!0: 28: 25 am: - North Tower collapses-
The North Tower (1WTC) begins to collapse approximately 102 minutes after Flight 11 struck it. The collapse progresses downward through the building. The Towr is destroyed in roughly 10- 15 seconds. A gigantic dust and debris cloud engulfs Lower Manhatten. Thousand of people who had been evacuating from the surrounding area flee through the streets.
After 10: 28 a.m - World Trade Center complex devastated , Both 110 -story towers are gone. Fires continue burning throughout the ruins. 7 world Trade center, a separate 47 -story building north of the main complex, has suffered extensive damage and fires. Numerous other WTC buildings are damaged. 5:20 :33 p.m. - 7 World Trade Center collapses after burning for several hours, 7 WTC collapses. It was not struck by an aircraft . Its collapse was subsequently attributed to structural damage and prolonged uncontrolled fires caused by debris from the North Tower collapse. What happened to the people in the towers? The human story is particularly important. At the time of the attacks,tens of thousands people were in the World Trade Center complex. Most people who were below the aircraf impackt zones and began evacuating promptly were able to escape. How ever the situation was dramatically different for those at or above the impact floors: in the North Tower, the aircraft destroyed or blocked all three primary stairwells through the impact zone. consequentlly essentially everyone above the impact floors was trapped.
In the South Tower, one stairwell remained sufficiently intact after the impact for some people above the impact zone to descend. A small number of people above the impact floors escaped, making the South Tower's survival pattern very different from the North Tower. Some people were unable to escape because of injuries, smoke that blocked stairways or the extreme heat. 343 FDNY firefighters , 23 NYPD officers, and Port Authority Police officers died at the World Trade Center, along withthosands of civilians. The overall sequence in simplified form: 8: 46- North Tower struck , 9: 03- South Tower struck, Thousands evacuate, firefighters climb upward , 9: 59- South Tower collapses- 10: 28- North Tower collapses , Afternoon - fires and rescue operations continue--5: 20---7 World Trade Center collapses-- The attacks killed 2977 people (excluding the 19 hijackers), with the overwheiming majority of the victims at the Worls Trade Center.
The whole country came to a stand still on that fateful day of September 2001. All planes were grounded and the whole of the USA became a no- fly zone. The heroic deeds of the firemen in seeking to rescue their fellow Americans can only be written in letters of gold. They contain tales of valor and heroism of people who went the extra mile to rescue and save people, sparing no thought for their own life or safety. It is apt indeed to state that in the Tragedy of 9/11 , those who went through it came face to face with evil while at the same time . The power of love that was preparedto sacrifice oneself to save a brother or sister in mortal danger. And the word of the Divine Master Jesus, "Greater love than this no man has than no lay down his life for his friends," (Jn. 15: 13) found perfect fullfillment in those many heroic rescue efforts of fellow Americans. Today 25 years after this applling incedent in humean history after the Hollocoust, we cannot overlook the relevance of its message in our own lives, faced with tragedy and pathos that continue to make headlines each day. 9/11 is forever the starkreminder to evryone of the possibility of the enexpected end of one's mortal existance on earth, however safe and secure one might seem to be in real time. On the other hand, the truth of the divine plan to one's existance striking us home with a clarity beond words cannot be missed out.
The World Trade Centre was 1368 feet high for the North Tower with a communications antenna measuring 360 feet bringing the total height to 1728 feet. The South Tower was 1362 feet in height. The entire structure was was built between 1966 and 1973 at a cost of US Dollar 400 million which in 2026 is equivalent to 3,3 billion US Dollars. //
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