EntranceThe fall of the Twin Towers on September 11, eyewitness accounts. New life
The series of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 is difficult to forget. The whole world watched the largest terrorist attack in human history. The perpetrators of the American tragedy were militants from the banned terrorist group Al-Qaeda*. In addition to the two hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York, two other planes were crashed at the Pentagon and Shacksville, Pennsylvania. On that bloody September day, 2,977 people died - most of them in the Twin Towers. This is also one of those terrorist attacks where the death of people was inevitably broadcast live by hundreds of media outlets around the world.
That day, 200 people jumped from the South and North Towers due to lack of hope of rescue. But there were also those who were able to escape from the burning second building. Who are these people born wearing shirts?
Alexander Skibitsky – 65th floor
Escaped from the South Tower a few minutes before the collision
Alexander Skibitsky emigrated to the USA from Krasnodar, and now lives in Canada. In 2001, he worked in the South Tower on the 65th floor. Around nine in the morning, Alexander was at his workplace and looking forward to the weekend with his wife on the Hudson. It soon became known that the North Tower was on fire, but the cause was unclear. The office workers did not suspect that a plane had already crashed into a nearby skyscraper. No one could even imagine that someone could fly into a city building on such a clear day. This development of events was the stuff of fiction.
His colleagues immediately began calling their relatives and telling them that everything was fine with them, but Alexander felt that this was not just a fire. As Skibitsky told the media, he and his colleague from Pakistan felt something was wrong and decided to leave the office despite the security service’s announcement that there was no threat to people’s lives. They were afraid that the fire would spread to the South Tower. Meanwhile, office workers began packing documents and computers in case emergency.
AP Photo/David Karp
Alexander and his colleague Wally went down the elevator, but they were stopped by security and asked to return to their jobs. The men did not listen and broke through. The streets closest to the World Trade Center were strewn with ash, and black smoke billowed from the North Tower. People from the upper floors (the height of the towers were 110 floors each) jumped out of the windows. Only then did they understand what really happened.
Just a few minutes later, according to official information at 09:02 am, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. The plane rammed from the 77th to the 85th floor, Alexander and his colleague could have died if they had not disobeyed the guards at the exit. According to him, at that moment all hell broke loose. People ran out of buildings in crowds, and burning bodies fell to the ground. The South Tower collapsed faster than the North Tower. All of Alexander's colleagues died.
Janice Brooks - 84th floor
Escaped from the South Tower during the collision
Personal consultant Janice Brooks worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower. She was getting ready to start work, but suddenly she heard a strange sound, reminiscent of a dull servant. Papers began to fly out of the windows of the building opposite, and someone shouted: “Run!” Janice didn’t immediately understand what to do and even managed to call her boss in London to ask permission to leave her workplace. He told her to get out of the office as soon as possible because a plane had flown into the North Tower. At that moment, this was already known from the news around the world.
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Brooks went down 12 floors, but the loudspeakers told everyone to return to their jobs. She began to climb back up, and when she reached the entrance door to her floor, the South Tower also shook. Six floors of the building were instantly destroyed, and wounded people ran towards Janice. It seemed that it was impossible to escape, because all the stairs were destroyed, but in the chaos and smoke, people found the door to another staircase and ran down it. Janice took off her shoes and rushed to the first floor exit, with numerous pieces of glass stabbing into her feet.
Stanley Primant - 81st floor
Was inside the South Tower seven meters from the incoming plane
Primant was an employee of Fuji Bank, whose office was located on the 81st floor of the South Tower. When the plane hit the North Building, he was taking the elevator to his office. As soon as Stanley got in touch, his friends immediately started calling him and asking if he was okay. After that, he looked out the window and saw that a fire was blazing in the neighboring tower. The man tried to call his bank branch in the North Tower, but no one answered there. Primant decided that he needed to get out of the building and tried to leave. Like the others, security and police took him back to the rear.
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Stanley returned to his office and stood near the window. A few minutes later, he noticed a plane flying near the Statue of Liberty and rapidly approaching directly in his direction. Soon the aircraft was so close that the noise of the engines could be heard through the maximally soundproof windows. Primant began to pray and crawled under his desk. A few seconds later the floor caught fire, but the flames did not reach his office.
He could not get out of the room on his own, as it was completely destroyed. The man could only call for help. His heart-rending screams were responded to by people descending the stairs nearby. Euro Brokers Vice President Brian Klahr returned to help Primant. They managed to get out of the tower in less than an hour. At 09.59 it collapsed, burying thousands of people.
Ron DiFrancesco - 84th floor
Escaped from the South Tower a few minutes before the building collapsed
The morning of September 11th was no different for Ron. He worked as a broker, and his office was located on the 84th floor of the South Tower. As soon as he noticed smoke in a nearby building, DiFrancesco immediately decided to go outside.
A few minutes after he left for the stairs, a second hijacked plane crashed into his tower. Along the way, he met people who persuaded him to go upstairs, since the fire on the lower floors was too strong. But the doors to the roof were blocked, Ron reached a free area in the impact zone and lay down on the floor. Around him lay gasping people, the general panic made him think that he needed to try to go down again. Under the adrenaline of what had happened, he managed to go down to the first floor, and a few minutes later the South Building began to collapse.
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Soon he lost the creature, and woke up in the hospital with a broken spine and numerous burns. Ron DiFrancesco became last person, who managed to leave the second building before the collapse. In addition, one of the four surviving Americans who were above the 81st floor at the time of the collision.
Pascal Buzzelli – 64th floor
Woke up alive in the ruins of the seventh floor of the South Tower
Design engineer Pascal Buzzelli was 43 years old when the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. He took the elevator to his floor and saw people in a state of panic. Pascal immediately called his wife and asked her to turn on the TV, she told her husband that the North Tower had been rammed by a plane and was on fire. Soon Buzzelli and his colleagues rushed to the stairs to go down and managed to reach the 22nd floor level when the building began to collapse.
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He realized that it was unlikely that he would be able to escape and curled up into a ball to slide down the numerous debris. Pascal woke up in ruins on the seventh floor, having escaped with a broken leg.
* terrorist organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Yana Vakhrusheva
Perhaps every person on planet Earth knows the tragedy that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001. Then the world really changed. Then the world united in the face of a new enemy - terrorism. We have collected 25 facts about the tragedy that you might not know.
The largest number of victims
View of the events from the Statue of Liberty3,000 people died and more than 6,000 people suffered varying degrees of injury during the September 11 terrorist attack. Collectively, this was the highest death toll from a terrorist attack in history.
Survivors
One of the New York firefighters 18 people were rescued from the wreckage.
nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant, where one of the hijacked airbuses was originally sent Al-Qaeda planned to send planes to the nuclear power plant, but the organizers changed their minds, as things could get out of control.
Dead employees
A wreath in memory of those killed in action During the rescue operation, 343 fire service personnel and 71 police officers were killed.
Common tragedy of 90 countries
Flags in Memory Lane near the World Trade Center Citizens of 90 countries died in the disaster.
Body parts
Firefighter in the first minutes after the crash During the search, 19,435 body parts were found.
Youngest victim
Name of the youngest victim of the terrorist attack Christine Lee Hanson was the youngest victim of the terrorist attack. She was two years old. She was on board one of the ill-fated planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers.
Gift from the Maasai
Chiefs of the Maasai tribe The Maasai tribe gave 14 head of cattle to the United States. According to tribal tradition, this is considered the greatest gift.
Unfulfilled plan
F-16 before departure Lieutenant Heather Penny was ordered to ram Air Force One because the crew did not have time to assemble ammunition for her F-16. However, the plan could not be put into action: the airbus died before the fighters could find it.
Sculpture from Tseriteli
Sculpture donated by Russia There is a monument to the Tear in Bayonne, New Jersey. It was created by Russian sculptor Zurab Tseriteli in memory of the victims of September 11th.
First work shift
One of the planes that landed at Dallas Airport on September 11 Ben Sliney started his first shift as head of operations for the United States Aviation Administration on September 11, 2001. He ordered the immediate grounding of 4,000 aircraft flying over the United States.
Memorial in Israel
Memorial in Israel In Israel there is a memorial created from metal from the site where the Twin Towers stood.
Largest water evacuation
Rescue expedition on the Hudson After the terrorist attack, the largest water evacuation took place. More than a million New Yorkers left the city on rafts, boats, boats and ships.
Hospitality Canada
Canadian skydiver during a moment of silence Immediately after the terrorist attack, Canadian authorities closed the airspace over their country to all aircraft except those flying to the United States. Passengers on these flights were accommodated free of charge in Canadian hotels and were fully provided for during their stay in the country.
The only plane
One of the fighters accompanying Lawrence After the disaster, only one plane was allowed to take off: in Miami poisonous snake bit Lawrence van Sertim, but the required amount of antidote was not found. In order to save the patient's life, doctors had to transfer the victim by plane to San Diego. The board was accompanied by two fighters.
Column in the New York Times
Panel of photographs of those killed on September 11 In the New York Times for a long time a column was published in which they talked about each victim of September 11th.
Rescue dogs
American rescuers and search dog More than 400 dogs were involved in the search expedition.
3000 children left without parents
Removing the rubble of the World Trade Center Memorial plaque in Ireland
Commemorative stele in Ireland Mychal Judge became the first recorded victim of the September 11 terrorist attack. He was a chaplain for the New York City Fire Department. There is a memorial plaque outside his parents' home in Ceshcarrirgan, Ireland.
World minute of silence
Commemorative plaque in Germany All over the world, people supported a minute of silence in memory of the victims of September 11: Formula 1 drivers turned off their engines, in Poland, bells rang throughout the country for several minutes and there was silence on all channels, and public transport was stopped in many countries. 
Blood Bank 9/11
Freedom Tower
Freedom Tower The new World Trade Center opened on May 10, 2013. It was called the "Freedom Tower". The spire is 1,776 feet tall, a reference to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Huge swimming pools on the site of the Twin Towers
One of the memorial pools The 9/11 Memorial consists of two huge swimming pools that stand on the site of the Twin Towers. On their walls are the names of all those who died in the disaster. It also contains the names of 10 pregnant women who died during the terrorist attack.
Spotlights 9/11
9/11 Memorial Night Every year on September 11 in New York, two powerful floodlights are turned on in the place where the World Trade Center buildings stood.
This tragedy changed the world. I would like to believe that such terrible events will not happen again.
Photo: newspaper website " Big city"
The cloud of dust and ash that blanketed Manhattan after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks contained carcinogens. Many rescuers and survivors fell ill with cancer, and in the coming years the number of patients may increase several times. “Big City” wrote about this on Monday in a text based on materials from the CityLab feature (“This is what we know about cancer and September 11, 14 years later”).
At the end of August, Marcy Borders, who became famous as the “ash woman” from Stan Honda’s photograph for AFP, died of stomach cancer. Borders walked past the photographer, pausing for a moment during the evacuation: a young woman who had recently joined Bank of America was completely covered in ash and dust from the collapsed South Tower of the World Trade Center. Perhaps it was this dust that killed her, like other people who were able to survive the terrorist attack.
According to 2014 data, almost 2.5 thousand people who were injured or participated in rescue efforts fell ill with cancer. Their number will grow rapidly in the coming years, experts are sure.
On September 11, 2001, Manhattan was literally covered in a cloud of dust. It contained particles of asbestos, fiberglass, mercury, benzene and other carcinogenic chemicals. They were breathed by those who survived the terrorist attack, as well as by those who came to save them. The construction of the World Trade Center, according to official estimates, took 300-400 tons of asbestos.
Gradually, people connected in one way or another with the terrorist attack began to get sick. The first reports appeared in 2002: Dr. David Prezant, who worked at the New York City Fire Department, noticed that firefighters involved in the fire were suffering from respiratory diseases. He called it the "WTC cough."
10 years after the terrorist attack, in 2011, compensation began to be paid to the families of those who died from this disease and those who suffer from it. In 2011, in addition to the Victim Compensation Fund that was founded a couple of years after the terrorist attack, the World Trade Center Health Program was also established to help victims recover from the consequences of the terrorist attack.
In 2012, the authorities added about 50 diseases to the list of diseases for which compensation can be obtained. various types cancer, understanding that the gap between exposure (during a terrorist attack) and the manifestation of the disease can be extremely long. Harmful substances, released after a terrorist attack, can cause, for example, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma. Experts at the World Trade Center Health Program believe that the most common types of cancer that affect victims are cancer of the lungs and digestive system.
Asbestos also leads to mesothelioma, but this type of cancer usually appears at least 11 years after exposure to the carcinogen. Sometimes the first symptoms appear several decades after the formation of the tumor. World Trade Center Health Program specialists expect an influx of patients in the next 30 years.
Often people who develop cancer as a result of a terrorist attack do not directly connect the disease with the consequences of the disaster. Therefore, they do not receive assistance from special funds. Residents of New York who were simply next to the Twin Towers are also in the danger zone. They are not considered victims of the terrorist attack. For example, the World Trade Center Health Program is concerned about the health of students in schools adjacent to the World Trade Center.
At the same time, the World Trade Center Health Program assistance program should end in October, and the compensation fund should end in October 2016. If they are not extended, then people who develop cancer after the terrorist attack will not receive help and funding for treatment, and scientists will not receive further research.
Comments (7)
15.09.2015 16:54
Neonatologist
So it is now known that during construction, nuclear charges were planted there at a depth of 70 meters. This was included in the construction plan as a method of dismantling these buildings. Without this, they simply would not have been allowed to be built. It’s not for nothing that the steel structures fell vertically, and the bottom of the pit in place of the buildings is melted granite. That is, a small man-made Chernobyl took place at the command of their powers that be.
16.09.2015 11:25
passerby
Or maybe the ashen nigra died from a 10-year addiction to cocaine and the consequences it caused?
Why is there not a word about this in the article?
Journalwhores are such journalwhores
16.09.2015 21:40
Chukigek
Well, where are their best aesculapians in the world? Are they also unable to cope with cancer patients, like in Russia? Or do the swindlers in white coats also have low salaries?
17.09.2015 01:54
Dima E
Chukigek “Or do the swindlers in white coats also have little salary?”
not small - there is “health insurance”. They even filmed a “health burial.” It's a terrible thing to get sick in the USA.
In Cuba - in impoverished Cuba, a doctor boasted of how quickly the two of them sewed a man's severed fingers back on. Question - how much does it cost? The answer is free. In the USA, a guy whose saw cut off two fingers was deciding which one to sew on. Because insurance won't pay for 2. There is also a story about the liquidators, what life is like for them.
In memory of the tragedy of September 11, 2001 (part 2)
Ten years ago, 19 men trained by Al Qaeda carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on the United States. It took several years to develop the plan for the terrorist attack. Terrorists simultaneously hijacked 4 large passenger planes with the intention of using them to destroy the most famous landmarks in the United States, taking as many lives as possible. Three planes reached their targets, the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. In one day, these acts of mass murder killed about 3,000 people from 57 countries. Of these, more than 400 died - firefighters, police officers and ambulance crews. This event received the maximum coverage in the entire history of the media, and even ten years later it is difficult to look at these photographs. The attacks and the response to them have greatly shaped the world we live in today, which is why it is important to look at these photographs and remember what happened that day.1. View of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan covered in clouds of smoke and dust from Jersey City, New Jersey, September 15, 2001.
2. Smoke pours from a hole in the wall and from the upper floors of the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York after the collision of American Airlines Flight 11.
3. United Airlines Flight 175 moments before impact with the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The north tower is already on fire.
4. Explosion in the south tower during the collision of United Airlines Flight 175 in New York, September 11, 2001. The plane crashed into the building at a speed of 945 km/h.
5. Airplane collision with the south tower of the World Trade Center. There were 56 passengers on board (including 5 hijackers).
6. The explosion of 3800 liters of fuel remaining on board the plane during a collision with the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
7. Two women, fighting for each other, look at the World Trade Center buildings burning after a terrorist attack.
8. For Empire State The burning Twin Towers are visible from the building.
9. A cloud of smoke from the World Trade Center buildings in lower Manhattan. Photo from a USGS satellite flying over the area around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
10. People hanging from the windows of the North Tower of the World Trade Center after the attack.
11. A man jumps to his death from the north tower of the World Trade Center filled with smoke and flames.
12. A man jumps from the upper floors of the burning north tower of the World Trade Center.
13. A man jumps from the north tower of the World Trade Center.
14. A Pentagon surveillance camera captured the explosion that resulted from the collision with a hijacked American Airlines plane with 58 passengers and six crew on board on September 11, 2001.
15. Flames and smoke erupt from the Pentagon building after the explosion.
16. Firefighters extinguish the Pentagon after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
17. Medics treat victims near the Pentagon after a hijacked airliner crashed into the southwest corner of the building.
18. The Pentagon wall after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
19. Smoke billows from the World Trade Center towers after two hijacked planes crashed into them during the terrorist attack on New York.
20. At 9:59 a.m. on September 11, 2001, 56 minutes after the impact, the south tower of the World Trade Center begins to collapse.
21. The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses, and the rubble buries the surrounding streets.
22. Police officers and pedestrians run for cover during a terrorist attack in New York.
23. People covered in dust walk through the rubble near the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.
24. Maru Stahl of Somerset, Pennsylvania, shows a photo he took of the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93. The plane crashed near Shanksville, and Stahl, hearing the explosion, headed to the crash site and took a photo before rescuers cordoned off the area. The plane crashed in Pennsylvania shortly after the attacks on New York.
25. FBI aerial photograph of the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, taken on September 12, 2001. The Boeing 757 was flying from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco when it made a sharp turn near Cleveland and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 44 people died. The plane was one of four that were part of the 9/11 attack plan and the only one that failed to reach its target.
26. Firefighters and rescue workers investigate the crash site of Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
27. At 10:28 a.m. on September 11, 2001, 102 minutes after the plane struck, the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York collapses.
28. Collapse of the World Trade Center tower on September 11, 2001 in New York.
29. A New York Police Department photo shows ash and smoke billowing across Manhattan as the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
30. Dust, smoke and debris fill the air as the World Trade Center tower falls on September 11, 2001 in New York.
31. Dust, smoke and ash envelop neighboring buildings after the fall of both World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001 in New York.
32. People are leaving the collapsed towers to escape the smoke and dust. As a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in New York, both 110-story towers of the World Trade Center collapsed.
33. The North Tower of the World Trade Center turns into a cloud of dust and debris half an hour after the fall of the South Tower on September 11, 2001. The photo was taken from Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River.
34. People make their way through the rubble near the ruins of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York.
35. A priest helps people after the fall of the World Trade Center towers in New York on September 11, 2001.
36. People cover their faces from the dust as they cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get away from the cloud of dust and smoke that covered Manhattan after the terrorist attacks.
37. People on the street near the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
38. A sheriff's deputy treats a woman injured during the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
39. A man sobs as he watches the World Trade Center tower fall in New York on September 11, 2001.
40. A firefighter rests on a bench in lower Manhattan while working at the site of the fall of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
41. Construction debris and ashes from the fall of the World Trade Center towers as a result of the terrorist attack fill the streets of Manhattan, turning the city into a picture of the Apocalypse. Buildings collapsed, burying thousands of people in the rubble.
42. A fireman calls rescuers to help clear the wreckage of the World Trade Center. The photo was taken on September 15, 2001.
43. The chassis of one of the hijacked planes lies on the street next to the destroyed buildings of the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2001.
44. Firefighters search for survivors under the rubble of the Twin Towers after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
45. Light barely breaks through the clouds of smoke and ash at the site of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
46. New York firefighters extinguish building 7 of the World Trade Center, destroyed along with the Twin Towers during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
47. A group of firefighters near the ruins of the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2001.
48. Debris covers the tracks in the New York City Subway tunnel on lines 1 and 9 at the Cortlandt Street Station under the World Trade Center. New York City transportation officials said the damage was so severe that more than one mile of tunnel had to be rebuilt.
49. Rescuers carry out a search and rescue operation for victims as they descend into the rubble of the World Trade Center on Friday, September 14, 2001.
50. A man stands in the ruins of the World Trade Center towers and tries to call survivors, asking if anyone needs help.
15 years ago, on September 11, 2001, Rick Rescorla, through his personal will and professionalism, saved 2,687 lives in the World Trade Center tower in New York. He died to save those who did not comply with the evacuation order.
Remember this name: Cyril Richard (Rick) Rescorla is the head of security at Morgan Stanley. It was he who became the main character of September 11, 2001. What Rescorla did was included in many scientific works as an ideal model of behavior in a critical situation, as an example of the correct and unwavering performance of duties by the head of the security service, an example of how to fight for life if you really want to survive in the modern world.
The most amazing thing is that Rescorla predicted the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center many years before the attack! He was not a clairvoyant and was not an expert in the fight against terrorism - he simply had extraordinary analytical abilities, which, as it turned out, were an order of magnitude superior to the work of all government security agencies. He became the prophet of a catastrophe, which, except him, everyone else considered a whim. And, despite the mistrust and ridicule, Rescorla did everything possible so that, when disaster struck, he could save as many lives entrusted to him as possible.
Rick Rescorla was born on May 27, 1939 in the UK. He served in the British army and took part in armed conflicts in Cyprus and Rhodesia. But in 1963, he joined the US Army (wanting to fight communist regimes) and was sent to Vietnam as part of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Remember the movie "We Were Soldiers" with Mel Gibson? It was based on the book by Lieutenant General Harold Moore, who was a battalion commander of the 1st Division in Vietnam. So, Moore called Rescorla "the best platoon leader I've ever seen." It was the photograph of Rescorla, who especially distinguished himself in the battle of Ya-Drang, that Moore ordered to be placed on the cover of his book, which became a bestseller in the United States. For Vietnam, Rick received high awards - "Silver Star", "Bronze Star" with oak leaves, "Purple Heart".
After completing his military career, Rescorla took a job in 1985 as a security officer at Morgan Stanley, which was located in the south tower of New York's largest and tallest business complex, the World Trade Center (WTC). This was the heart of Manhattan, the financial capital of the world. Everything was safe and wonderful here, and no one thought about any terrorism.
But in 1988, Libyan intelligence services blew up an airliner over Lockerbie. And only one person realized that the world was entering an era of attacks by terrorists who did not seize anything and did not make demands. Who simply kill people with improvised means and whose actions are difficult for security structures to predict. In a 1988 interview with a journalist about Vietnam, Rescorla said this prophetic phrase: “In the future, the essence of war will be the hunt for terrorists. There will be no giant battlefields, there will be no massive tank offensive operations.”
In 1990, Rescorla prepared a report for the WTC administration that the center would become one of the priority targets of Arab terrorists. He conducted a threat analysis and noted that the most convenient way to carry out a terrorist attack on the center is to drive a truck with explosives into the underground garage. The management of the World Trade Center and Morgan Stanley perceived the report on terrorism in New York with the help of explosives as some kind of ridiculous invention of a retired soldier who creates panic and attracts attention to himself.
Rescorla tried to conduct fire drills at the bank and practice emergency evacuations. But this was generally perceived by the company’s employees as a whim and stupidity, and when Rescorla announced the alarm, the majority simply did not pay attention to it, considering the veteran an annoying hindrance in their work.
Anyone would give up and stop annoying their colleagues. But Rescorla stubbornly continued to sound the alarm.
Everything changed on February 26, 1993. On this day, Arab Ramzi Youssef parked his car in the underground garage of the World Trade Center. He did this without hindrance, because there was no security at this facility. At 12:37 p.m., Youssef detonated a 680-kilogram bomb that was installed in a car. The World Trade Center building shook. On the 73rd floor of the Morgan Stanley office, people felt a slight jolt and only paused for a moment before continuing with their urgent billion-dollar projects. Only one person perceived the explosion as a threat - Rick himself. The others acted as if nothing bad could ever happen to them.
And then Rescorla, in the midst of all this office-banking noise and turmoil, stood in the middle of the operating room and demanded that all employees immediately drop everything and begin an immediate evacuation from the building. It was so ridiculous that almost no one paid attention to the eccentric from the security service. And then Rick climbed onto the table and yelled as if he was raising soldiers to attack: “Do I need to take off my pants so that you pay attention to me?!” Amazingly, after this, a group of thousands of bankers and their clients, grumbling and swearing, nevertheless began to line up for the exit, and Rescorla immediately began handing out flashlights and led all the bank employees bypassing the elevators - along the dark fire escapes.
And only when all the financiers went outside did their indignation give way to shock. A powerful bomb exploded in a parking garage at the World Trade Center, killing 6 people and injuring 1,042! The building received serious damage.
After this, Rescorla’s authority as the head of the bank’s security service finally rose unusually high: professionalism is highly respected and valued in America. He was creakingly approved of the training plan for the evacuation of personnel and was allowed to conduct them when necessary.
The will and determination of one person could change everything. No, that's not all: it was just the beginning.
Immediately Rescorla pulled out a new shocking trick: he told the directors of Morgan Stanley that terrorists would not stop attacking the World Trade Center. That new attacks will be more terrible and, due to the high terrorist threat, the entire bank should be evacuated from a shopping center outside the city, to the state of New Jersey, dispersed in a complex of buildings, and this will truly increase security.
This was already too much. Moving out of the World Trade Center would have cost the bank enormous sums, since the lease agreement was concluded before 2006. Well, there was an explosion in the garage, but the building stood and will stand when it is still under attack, so why panic? However, according to Rescorla's demands, the bankers began the procedure for early termination of the lease...
Rescorla introduced a security system at Morgan Stanley that would be worth communicating to its employees to all tenants in high-rise buildings where evacuation is a complex process.
I have summarized Rescorla’s rules into seven theses, and it seems to me that applying these rules more than once can save the lives of many people:
1. In case of an emergency, you should not hope that someone from the outside will save you or solve your problem. Don’t listen to anyone: everything depends on coordination and speed of action. Take care of yourself and your comrades: this is more important to you than to anyone.
2. Only frequent and unexpected fire drills can ensure order and quick evacuation in the event of an emergency. You only master the skill that you constantly practice.
3. Evacuation must take place as quickly as possible, but according to a pre-agreed order, otherwise panic and casualties are inevitable.
4. Evacuation does not take place through elevators, which may be de-energized, but only along fire escapes, which must be maintained in a ready-to-use condition.
5. All employees go out to evacuate in pairs, and in the event of any emergency, assistance to the victim is, first of all, provided by his partner, who is pre-determined during the exercise.
6. Everyone takes part in drills, including management and random office visitors, without exception. The possibility of a training alarm should be provided for in the regulations for communications with clients. During anxiety, no one remains passive - everyone acts.
7. During a fire alarm, under any circumstances, always go down! Never go upstairs. Never.
One of the directors of Morgan Stanley, W. McMahon, recalled: “He very seriously insisted that absolutely everyone participate in fire drills. We said: well, the “sergeant” took up training again. And all this was repeated over and over again. It happened, I still “I stayed in my office, but the fire commissioner came and said: no, we have to go.”
Fire marshals wore fluorescent orange vests and helmets for identification during alarms.
The manager of the bank's administrative department, S. Engel, recalled Rescorla this way: “He kept saying: they will attack us again. Either from the air or from the subway.”
The day Rick Rescorla was preparing for was September 11, 2001.
At 8:46:40 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked by terrorists, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center between the 93rd and 99th floors at a speed of 790 km/h. A monstrous explosion shook the building and caused a powerful fire.
The World Trade Center administration turned on the speakerphone in the south tower. The WTC employee urged everyone not to panic and stay in their places. But at Morgan Stanley, no one was interested in the rules and calls of the WTC administration: they had Rick Rescorla. Just as always, he took the duty megaphone, walkie-talkie and telephone and began an operation to urgently evacuate people from the bank from the 73rd to 44th floors.
Everything went smoothly. 250 random visitors who attended broker courses were duly instructed in advance by bank employees what to do in the event of an alarm. The bank employees, in an organized manner with flashlights, staying in pairs, began a quick, organized descent down the fire escapes. The first to leave were the staff from the top 73rd floor. Fire marshals controlled traffic on all floors, communications worked, everything went according to plan.
And on time! Because at 9:03:02 a United Airlines Boeing Flight 175, hijacked by terrorists, crashed into the south side of the WTC south tower between the 78th and 85th floors at a speed of 959 km/h!
The strong explosion now set the south tower on fire. Those who did not go down from the upper floors were now doomed: the fire engulfed the entire building. When hit, the plane went right through the tower.
Rescorla used a megaphone to order silence and transferred the evacuation to another staircase. Through the glass walls of the skyscraper, Morgan Stanley employees saw crazed people jumping out of the flame-engulfed north tower next to them, who remained on the upper floors after the explosion, but did not have time to go down or decided to save themselves on the roof. The jump was their last chance...
To encourage people, Rescorla, a native of Cornwall, began singing “Men of Harlech,” an old Welsh battle song from the 15th century, into a megaphone:
"Men of Cornwall stop your dreaming, Can't you see their spearpoints glaming?
See their warriors’ pennants streaming, To this battlefield.
Men of Cornwall stand ye steady, It cannot be ever said ye for the battle were not ready
Stand and never yield!"
In less than an hour, 2,687 Morgan Stanley employees, who were located on 29 floors (from the 44th to 73rd), left the South Tower in an orderly manner and retreated to a safe distance. It looks like a miracle, but it was a miracle of organization and training.
And then Rescorla received information that the senior vice president of Morgan Stanley, busy with an important conversation, ignored the evacuation order and remained in the office. Also, 7 more bank employees remained on different floors in the building for various reasons. You couldn't go there. The tower was burning and crumbling. There was already hell on the upper floors.
But, as once in his youth, in Vietnam, 1st Lieutenant Rescorla could not leave his people in trouble. Rick returned to the tower with four security officers and they walked up the stairs. Watching them were almost three thousand people saved by Rescorla. They managed to climb to about the 10th floor.
But at 09:59:04 a monstrous roar was heard: the colossal colossus of the southern tower began to fall apart and collapsed, scattering to smithereens...
This happened 55 minutes and 51 seconds after the plane was hit. Precious minutes gained from years of previous completely unpopular training saved the lives of most of the Morgan Stanley staff and all visitors. But the price of this amazing rescue was the life of Rick Rescorla.
The remains of his body were never found when clearing the rubble. His name is imprinted on the memorial to the victims of the tragedy, built on the site of the World Trade Center, as well as on other monuments from people grateful to him...