CALIFORNIA: Eighteen years ago an unimaginable horror-struck America when four commercial flights were hijacked by terrorists and crashed into sites including New York City’s Twin Towers.
It was Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. The weather was fine and sunny, with New Yorkers commuting to work or school under a cloudless blue sky.
But when the clock struck 8.46 am, an unthinkable horrifying incident occurred: American Airlines Flight 11, bound for Los Angeles, was hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda at Boston airport and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
People stared up in confusion and disbelief at the World Trade Center (WTC) Twin Towers sending plumes of smokes drifting over the city, wondering whether it was an accident, until 17 minutes later a second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, hit the South Tower at 9.03 am.
By 10.30 am the Twin Towers had collapsed, sending people running for their lives covered in dust and debris. Meanwhile, 370 kilometers away, American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon building in Virginia at 9.37 am, and United Airlines Flight 93 was crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10.03 am.
In less than two hours, 2, 996 people were killed and more than 6, 000 injured, including hundreds of firefighters and police officers rushing to the scenes.
(Agencies)
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