00:00It was one of the most devastating events that took place in modern history.
00:13Much of America would wake up with confusion followed by deep sadness and utter fear. Terrorists
00:19had done the unthinkable and on American soil. Let's take a look back at the mind-blowing day
00:25that drastically changed the world. September 11 started off as just another typical morning for
00:33millions of New Yorkers. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and the birds were out chirping.
00:40The residents of the Big Apple were simply carrying out their usual routines.
00:46Then at 8.46 the calmness abruptly stopped and the streets would noticeably rumble.
00:55The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning.
00:58The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning.
01:02The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning. The sky was burning.
01:04A large commercial airplane had just crashed into one of America's tallest and most recognizable
01:31landmarks.
01:33As everything happened in a blink of an eye, most people going about their day didn't
01:37witness the crash take place.
01:40But the thunderous impact would leave behind a massive hole in the top floors, accompanied
01:44by a large cloud of black smoke.
01:47It was very visible even from a great distance.
01:51Those inside the building were ordered to evacuate as quickly as possible.
01:56Unfortunately, for the people above the impact zone, there would be no way out for them.
02:02They were forced to remain subjected to the extreme heat and intense smoke until a possible
02:06rescue attempt.
02:08With the top half of the World Trade Center burning profusely, it didn't take long for
02:12the story to break worldwide.
02:15The catastrophic incident underway would force live morning programs on television to shift
02:20their focus.
02:21It's developing right now here in New York City.
02:24a plane has crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
02:28You can see it now on the screen right there.
02:31And don't know what the intent was, whether it was deliberate or accidental.
02:37But there is a fire going on there.
02:40Bits of debris are falling out of the sidewalks below.
02:43It happened at 8.48, about 12 minutes ago.
02:48And so it's developing and will continue to develop all through the day.
02:52And if you can see those bits of debris, they're large.
02:55If you can see it, it's large because the World Trade Center is so immense and you can
03:00clearly see things falling.
03:01A lot of speculation whether or not it was an accident or maybe a suicide bomber.
03:07The speculation of it being accidental would quickly end as millions watched another plane
03:12deliberately target the second skyscraper.
03:15More reports of a possible plane hijacking surfaced.
03:32The conversation quickly shifted to who was behind the attacks and questioned if there
03:36was more in store.
03:40Today we've had a national tragedy.
03:43Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack
03:50on our country.
03:53I have spoken to the Vice President, to the Governor of New York, to the Director of the
03:59FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the Federal Government go to help the victims
04:06and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those
04:15folks who committed this act.
04:19Immediately after the speech from President Bush, the Pentagon, which is the headquarters
04:23of the United States Department of Defense, would be hit by a commercial airliner as well.
04:30The FAA immediately ordered all aircraft nationwide to land at the closest available airport after
04:35the third attack.
04:39A substantial amount of emergency responders were dispatched for those still trapped in
04:43the two buildings.
04:45Many victims no longer could deal with the extreme conditions and sadly decided to jump to
04:50their death.
04:54After burning for nearly two hours, millions watched as the South Tower collapsed in dramatic
04:59fashion.
05:01Oh my God!
05:19The streets became quickly filled with a thick cloud of dust from the pulverized concrete.
05:35Thousands ran away as quick as they could but ultimately would be covered in the toxic materials
05:40and forced to inhale it all.
05:43Not long after the first tower went down, the remaining tower also would suffer the same fate.
05:49And there as you can see, perhaps the second tower, the front tower, the top portion of
05:54which is collapsing.
05:58Good Lord!
06:05The breaking news continued later in the morning as a new report of a fourth commercial plane had crashed.
06:33But unlike the three incidents prior, the airliner crashed in a remote area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
06:40The day of terrorism would conclude with yet another World Trade Center building collapsing
06:45from the ramifications.
06:48The sadness and despair had swept the nation as a whole.
06:52Families across the world still wondered if their loved ones were safe or had they become
06:56a part of the collateral damage.
07:01For the following days after the attacks, thousands of ordinary citizens, along with rescue teams
07:07began sifting through the rubble at ground zero, hoping to find survivors.
07:12Soon the intelligence agencies of the US would have more answers for the grieving Americans.
07:18The FBI had connected the dots of the well-calculated terrorism plan, and 19 mugshots of the alleged
07:24hijackers were shown to the public.
07:27They were a part of the extremist terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda.
07:32In the wee hours of the morning, they all boarded the commercial flights used in the attacks,
07:38armed with box cutters, pepper spray, and small knives.
07:42After the planes were in the air, they took control of the flights, inducing great fear
07:47among the passengers and staff.
07:50The elaborate plan consisted of four designated hijackers, whom were trained to fly large
07:54commercial aircraft.
07:57All 19 members of the terrorist group were ready and willing to die to carry out the
08:01attack on America.
08:03While three of the four groups were successful in hitting their planned targets.
08:09Flight 93, on the other hand, would see an uprising from the passengers on board.
08:14Some received phone calls from concerned friends and family watching the news.
08:19Thus they became aware of the fatal intentions of the terrorist.
08:24The word had spread around the plane, and the passengers decided to courageously fight
08:28back and overwhelm the hijackers.
08:31Flight 93 was the only plane not to have crashed into a building that day, sparing the lives of
08:37hundreds if not thousands.
08:39The intense fires from the obliterated buildings would continue to burn for months.
08:45The estimated death toll from the shocking incident continued to be updated.
08:50There were nearly 2,800 victims from the World Trade Center attacks, including first responders.
08:57There were nearly 190 victims from the Pentagon attack, and 40 confirmed deceased passengers from
09:04Flight 93 that crashed in the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
09:09A memorial was built on the sites, listing all the names of the victims.
09:14The United States security, as a reaction, began taking greater measures to ensure nothing
09:19like this ever happens again.
09:22What do you think about this story?
09:24And do you remember where you were on 9-11?
09:28Leave a comment below and let me know.
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