Probably every modern person has heard something about the 2001 terrorist attack that took place in New York. However, some people do not know the details, while others simply forgot - after all, after this terrible event, almost two decades have passed. We will try to deal with this tragedy as objectively as possible, but at the same time briefly.
What it is
The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. And almost immediately, terrible news spread all over the world. Someone mourned the victims, while someone grinned maliciously and rejoiced at the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
The fact is that on September 11 in New York, two passenger aircraft crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center. The attack was remembered by many as the most bloody in the history of mankind.
How did it all happen?
Now we will try to recreate in detail the events of the September 2001 terrorist attack.
On this day, the airports worked as usual. Many dozens of airliners, taking off from different cities in the United States, headed to California. And only on board the four airplanes flying from Newark, Logan and Dulles airports, everything went completely wrong - they were captured almost simultaneously shortly after take-off. They were not chosen by chance - because of the considerable length of the routes on board the aircraft there was a large amount of fuel - about 30-35 tons of aviation kerosene.
So far, experts have not been able to agree on how nineteen terrorists were able to capture four huge airliners. Some argue that for this, ordinary stationery cutters were used, with which the terrorists trained for a long time before going "to business." Others believe that tear gas was also used - a message was received from the pilot of one of the hijacked aircraft.
The passengers and crew of one of the aircraft made an attempt to regain control of the aircraft, as a result of which the terrorists' plans were frustrated - the aircraft fell on a field in Pennsylvania. The terrorists and all those on board died.
The second plane was sent to the Pentagon building near the city of Washington. The terrorists managed to fulfill their plan and crash into the Pentagon. However, the place for the attack was not chosen very well - it was in this wing that the repair was carried out at that time. Therefore, the number of victims was relatively small - not counting the terrorists, passengers and crew on board, a little more than a hundred people died. If the plane crashed into the building on the other hand, the number of victims would increase at least several times.
But, of course, the most terrible and memorable events of the 2011 terrorist attack took place in New York. This is where two Boeing 767-200 aircraft with numbers N334AA and N612UA went. Their goals were the well-known twin towers, which housed the World Trade Center.
The first crashed into the north tower at about 8:46 at an altitude of 94-98 floors.
The second crashed into the south tower at 9:03. He was sent below - at approximately 78-85 floors. Since television crews, who were in a hurry to remove the place of the first explosion, had already arrived at the scene, they managed to shoot the second attack from several angles.
As a result of the aircraft strike on the building, a fire broke out - it was no coincidence that aircraft with a large amount of fuel on board were selected. Tens of tons of fuel, splashing out of broken tanks, flooded many floors. And due to a powerful blow that damaged the supporting structures, the buildings began to rapidly collapse.
The tower, the first to be attacked by terrorists (north), collapsed at 10:28. This happened due to a fire that was able to be put out only after 102 minutes.
The south tower collapsed much faster - at 9:56, and the fire lasted only 56 minutes.
However, the attack had further consequences. Powerful explosions in the attacked buildings led to the fact that in another tower - WTC-7 - gas exploded and a powerful fire started, which could not be stopped quickly. As a result, it collapsed at 17:20.
Number of victims
As mentioned above, the total number of terrorists on board the four aircraft amounted to 19 people. Of course, they all died.
The terrorists who captured the plane of flight United 93, crashed in a field near Washington, failed to complete their task. Therefore, only passengers and crew members died - the total number of victims was 40 people.
More effective were the actions of terrorists who chose the Pentagon as their target. In addition to 59 passengers and members on board, 125 people died in the building.
But, of course, the “indicators” of two planes crashed into the buildings of the World Trade Center turned out to be the highest. The attack on the twin towers on September 11, 2001 claimed the lives of not only 147 people on board. Also killed 2, 606 people in the building and on its wreckage.
Yes, not everyone knows about it, but not all victims died on September 11 precisely because of the attack itself. During the localization and liquidation of the fire, as well as in the process of searching for survivors, 341 firefighters of the city fire department, as well as two paramedics, were killed. In addition, the number of victims includes 60 police officers, as well as 8 emergency doctors.
As a result of the fire, a huge amount of toxic substances was released into the air - insulation and heat-insulating materials burned, densely saturated with fuel. It was because of this that the last victim of the attack - Felicia Dunn-Jones, died. Moreover, this happened a few months after the disaster. Carbon monoxide poisoning has led to pulmonary failure. Therefore, her name is also included in the lists of victims of the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001.
In total, 2, 977 people were killed as a result of the tragedy, not counting terrorists. Among them were citizens of not only the United States, but also almost hundreds of other states.
Nevertheless, the number of victims could be much larger. About 16 thousand people who were below the floors to which the planes were directed, managed to evacuate from the WTC buildings.
Who are the performers?
Officially, the attack was planned and carried out by Al-Qaeda, one of the most famous terrorist groups in the world. It was headed by Osama bin Laden himself, whose name has been heard in news programs for many years. Yes, and the group itself quickly took responsibility, saying that the attack was a response to US support for Israel, as well as the introduction of troops in Afghanistan.
Of the nineteen performers, fifteen are from Saudi Arabia, two from the UAE, and one each from Egypt and Lebanon.
Are special services behind the attacks?
However, the question of who organized the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 is not closed at all. There are a huge number of versions, the authors of which seek out contradictions in the official version, and sometimes come up with them. Alas, because of the latter, most people are not too serious about the former. After all, all the same, there are really enough inconsistencies in this matter.
For example, all the information about the terrorists was obtained due to the fact that the bag of one of them was accidentally detained at the airport and did not get on the plane. It was in it that the true documents of all the participants in the attack were located.
In addition, the buildings did not collapse immediately after the collision with the aircraft, but after an hour and a half, as a result of fires. But an ordinary fire, even with the use of aviation fuel, cannot melt the supporting pillars of skyscrapers - this was confirmed by the engineers and builders who worked on their construction. And some experts argue that the destruction is more inherent in the nature of a series of small directed explosions, which in turn destroyed the supporting structures.
An interesting fact is that the buildings were insured against terrorist attacks several months before the 2001 terrorist attack.
The wing where the repairs were carried out was chosen as the place of attack on the Pentagon - secret documents and top ranks were temporarily moved to other departments. And what is even more surprising - judging by the photo from the scene of the attack, there are completely no fragments of the plane that crashed into the building.
And this is not a complete list of strange events related to the attack. This makes us wonder - why did the special services not notice or ignore them? Is this a consequence of the fact that the explosions were carried out by the special services themselves?
Trail leads to Iran
There is also a version that the attack on the Gemini on September 11, 2001 was carried out not without the intervention of special services from Iran. Moreover, information about this came from Iranian intelligence officers and employees of the Ministry of Intelligence. Speaking in court in Manhattan, they affirmed that the Iranian government not only sponsored the attacks, but also participated in their development and implementation. And soon after the bombings themselves, they provided support to hundreds of al-Qaeda militants.
American government reaction
A month after the sad events, the US government gathered and led an international coalition whose goal was to overthrow the Taliban regime. State officials said that al-Qaeda is located in Afghanistan, where it is supported by the Taliban and coordinates the actions of its members around the world.
A series of arrests were also carried out both in the United States and in other countries. But judging by the fact that the special services of other countries transferred the prisoners to their American colleagues, it could not have done without the support of the CIA.
Safety measures taken
Of course, the American public demanded certain measures that would increase the level of security in the country.
In the months after the attack, more than 80 thousand Arabs, as well as emigrants from other Muslim countries, were forced to undergo fingerprint verification, and they were also registered in special registers. About 8 thousand people were interrogated, 5 thousand were detained.
Economic impact
The 2001 terrorist attack in the United States had other consequences.
For example, a telephone center near the WTC was destroyed due to an explosion and fires. As a result, the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ had to close. It was possible to restore their work only on September 17. Due to this downtime, US exchanges lost about $ 1.2 trillion in a matter of days. This is still considered the largest drop in the Dow Jones index in a week.
Due to the explosions, all flights in the United States were also canceled for several days. And in the following weeks and months, people were frankly afraid of flying on planes, fearing a repeat of the attack. As a result, passenger traffic decreased by 20%, creating serious problems for the entire airline industry in the United States.
Reaction in the world
People around the world reacted vividly to the 2001 New York terrorist attack.
Basically, the reaction was unequivocal - ordinary people and heads of government expressed grief over the innocently dead people. However, there were exceptions to this list.
For example, the Iraqi government said that American citizens are only reaping the fruits of their crimes.
Palestinian citizens openly rejoiced in the terrorist act of 2001 - solemn processions were held here. Which is not surprising - the United States supported the Jews, whose relations with the Palestinians are very strained.
Finally, there were demonstrations in China, where students carried banners with slogans in support of terrorists.
Memory of the dead
- On the day of the terrorist attack of 2001, a minute of silence was declared in almost all European countries as a sign of grief. A procession with candles was held in Washington.
- In place of the destroyed twin towers, two powerful searchlights were installed, aimed at the sky. The exhibition was called "Tribute in the world."
- In the Pentagon, a small chapel was built at the site of the deaths.
- A memorial was erected at the crash site of Flight 93.
- Act 111-13 approved September 11 as the date of the "National Day of Service and Remembrance."
