9/11 anniversary: Rare images show aftermath of World Trade Center attack that killed 2,997

US marks 17 years since terrorist atrocities 

Will Worley
Tuesday 11 September 2018 08:20 BST
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Distress calls from 9/11 relive the trauma of the attacks

The US is marking the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that killed 2,997 people and injured more than 6,000.

The suicide missions saw hijacked passenger planes flown into the Pentagon and the Twin Towers of New York‘s World Trade Centre.

Another hijacked civilian airliner crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

The worst domestic attack the US had ever experienced, it directly led to then-President George Bush launching the ”War on Terror”, which continues to have ramifications today.

The Independent is now publishing archive images showing the immediate aftermath of the attacks.​

George Bush reads to children at Emma E Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, on the morning of Tuesday September 11, 2001.

President Bush was visiting a school in Florida when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Centre’s North Tower.

The day’s planned activities were quickly abandoned as the President’s team scrambled to deal with the fallout.

President George Bush on the telephone as the second plane hit the Twin Towers in New York

As another plane hit the second tower, it became clear the collisions were not accidental.

President George Bush reacts to TV news footage of the second plane hitting the Twin Towers

In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney coordinated the response in George Bush’s absence.

Senior White House staff in the Emergency Operations Centre following the 9/11 attacks
The vice-President, his wife Lynne Cheney and first lady Laura Bush during the emergency briefing
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
Head of the CIA watches President Bush’s national address

On the ground in New York, there was panic as the towers collapsed, flooding the surrounding neighbourhoods with dust.

Man covered with ashes assisting a woman walking and holding a particle mask to her face, following the attack
The smoke from the wreckage of the Twin Towers as viewed from space

The rescue effort claimed the lives of 412 emergency responders, including 343 firefighters.

Firemen take a break from searching through the rubble of the World Trade Centre

To mark the 17th anniversary, President Donald Trump is scheduled to observe a moment of silence at around the time the first aeroplane hit the tower.

Meanwhile, rebuilding continues at Ground Zero. Work towards a $250m (£189m) performing arts centre continues after a design was unveiled last autumn.

Most recently, plans were announced last spring to transform a grassy clearing on the memorial plaza into a walkway and area dedicated to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers, including those who died of illnesses years after being exposed to smoke, dust and ash at Ground Zero.

This article was first published in September 2017

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