There were many events in the history of New York that the whole world learned about. One of the largest and most tragic was the political terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Then, the terrorists hijacked several American planes and destroyed two buildings that symbolized the political, economic and military power of the country. How it happened and what actions the American government took in this regard read further on new-york-yes.
What happened on September 11, 2001 in New York?
In the morning, 4 groups of terrorists (about 19 people) hijacked 4 passenger planes, which were flying over the east coast of the USA. Each of these groups had a person who had initial flight training. They sent two planes to the towers of the World Trade Center in New York in the southern part of Manhattan.
In less than 2 hours, both 110-story skyscrapers were destroyed. The third plane was sent to the Pentagon building in Washington and the fourth fell near Shanksville. As a result of this terrorist attack, 2,977 people from 92 countries of the world, including Ukraine, died.
Who organized and performed the terrorist attack and why?
As it turned out later, the political terrorist attack in New York was carried out by members of one of the largest Islamist terrorist organizations, Al-Qaeda. Its participants and former leader Osama bin Laden accused the US and its allies of provoking conflicts in Islamic countries, including Azerbaijan, Albania, Afghanistan and others.
15 of the 19 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates and the others came from Egypt and Lebanon.
Consequences of a political terrorist attack in New York
After the skyscrapers fell, there was a lot of fire, smoke and concrete debris. 200 people arrived at the crash site. Other firefighters, who were not on duty at that time, as well as ambulances and fire department helicopters, came to help.
The fire on the ruins lasted for 99 days. Several rescue services were working there. It was one of the biggest disasters in the world! It took a few weeks to put out the fire.
The territory was completely cleared of debris by March 2002. Many funds were created to provide financial assistance to victims and families of the dead. Then, a museum and a memorial were built at the site of the disaster, consisting of several marble basins into which water flows. The meaning of this architectural project is to convey the depth of grief of the American people to the victims of the terrorist attack.
How did the US government react to this?
Immediately after the terrorist attack on the initiative of the former US President George Walker Bush, America and its allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan. Their main goals were to destroy the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, so that they would face American justice and counteract other terrorist organizations. Representatives of the American government planned a war in Iraq. The Taliban government in Afghanistan was also overthrown by the decision of the international alliance.
The political terrorist attack in New York became one of the most tragic events in human history. As a result, several thousand people died. In this regard, the US government has introduced more responsible security measures. In 2002, the Homeland Security Act was adopted. According to it, the US Department of Homeland Security was created. New laws have also been passed to combat terrorism and other crimes and airport verifications have been strengthened.
Stories of the victims of the political terrorist attack in New York
On that day, September 11, 2001, no one could even imagine that something could happen. One of those who managed to survive the terrorist attack was William Rodriguez. He worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. As the plane crashed into the skyscraper, he heard the following:
‘At that moment, a man ran out of the corridor shouting: ‘Explosion, explosion!’ He held his hands in front of him. Gloves seemed to hang from the tips of his fingers. However, when he ran closer to us, we started screaming and crying from fear because he was burnt.’ That was Rodriguez’s story according to hromadske.ua.
Rodriguez got everyone on the same floor with him outside and went back into the building to help other people. He saved a security guard and two men who were stuck in an elevator and firemen… Rodriguez moved from one floor to another. To enter the premises and save people, he used a master key that could open any door. Meanwhile, the skyscraper was collapsing piece by piece and suddenly Rodriguez heard:
‘And they shout to me: ‘Run!’ The floor started to shake and the building began to collapse. There was only a fire truck in front of me. I climbed under it and prayed,’ – he recalled.
He didn’t die. His face was burnt and his shirt was almost destroyed. A few hours later, he gave the first interview in his life and met his future wife:
‘Elizabeth came to interview me. I fell in love at first sight,’ – admits William.
Another American who survived the terrorist attack is Frank Razzano. He arrived in New York on September 10, 2001. The next day he had an appointment scheduled meeting:
‘I stayed on the 19th floor of the Marriott Hotel. It was located between the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. It must have been almost 8 AM. I heard a loud noise, got out of bed and opened the window. I saw pieces of paper flying on the street. I thought, maybe it’s the strong wind that broke the glass in the World Trade Center above me and went to sleep,’ – he recalled.
In the morning, Frank heard the explosion again and saw cars on fire in the street and charred debris falling from a height. He learned from the news that two planes had crashed into the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center.
Suddenly, the hotel he was in began to shake. Frank left documents and personal things and started to get out of there. At that time, the central part of the building was already destroyed.
He went down to the platform between the 3rd and 4th floors, got out of the ruins and found men there. In a few minutes, firefighters joined them. Then suddenly there was another explosion that collapsed what was left of the hotel. Fortunately, Frank saw a ray of light breaking through the ruined wall. Thanks to this, he was able to get out from under the rubble. After reaching the ferry, he was taken to the hospital.