The terrorist attacks in New York and elsewhere on September 11, 2001 left nearly 3,000 people dead. These 9/11 pictures reveal the faces of the tragedy.
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1 of 56Shocked and in sheer disbelief, many New Yorkers simply stood in the street and watched the World Trade Center towers smolder.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 2 of 56A distant view of the burning towers as seen from Brooklyn. Neville Elder’s photographs of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 were published around the world. He returned to the same spots 10 years later to capture New York City as it was in 2011. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images 3 of 56New York Daily News staff photographer David Handschuh is carried to safety after his leg was shattered by falling debris while photographing the attack.Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images 4 of 56Countless people were covered in ash and forced to inhale smoke while the area around the World Trade Center was being evacuated.Mario Tama/Getty Images 5 of 56A man standing on the hood of a car screams out for a missing friend as the World Trade Center’s towers collapse.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images 6 of 56President George W. Bush learns of the attacks while sitting in front of a class of children at a school event in Florida.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images 7 of 56New Yorkers gather in the street and watch the World Trade Center go up in flames.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 8 of 56An unidentified NYFD firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the towers collapse.Anthony Correia/Getty Images 9 of 56Mike Scott from California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through WTC rubble for living or dead victims of the attack.Andrea Booher/FEMA/Getty Images 10 of 56One of the many trapped victims opting to leap to their death rather than be consumed by the intense heat and fire of the burning buildings.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 11 of 56Horrified onlookers stare in disbelief at the WTC inferno as smoke and ash fill the air.Mario Tama/Getty Images 12 of 56A sobbing woman reacts in horror as she looks up at the World Trade Center.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 13 of 56A firefighter emerging from the debris-filled smoke that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 14 of 56A NYFD firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 15 of 56People run away from the World Trade Center as the second tower comes crashing down into its footprint, sending waves of debris down the streets.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 16 of 56The enormous amount of wreckage produced by the the three collapsed buildings, as seen through a broken office window.ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images 17 of 56A solitary fire fighter standing amidst rubble and smoke from fires still burning days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mai/Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 18 of 56A New York firefighter gazes at the rubble of one of the towers just after the collapse.Wikimedia Commons 19 of 56Members of the U.S. Coast Guard watch the towers in the wake of the attacks.U.S. Coast Guard 20 of 56Retired Fire Chief Joseph Curry screams his orders to the rescue teams as they wade through the debris that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 21 of 56President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assess the damage at the Pentagon the day after 9/11.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images 22 of 56Injured people, covered in ash and debris, evacuate the World Trade Center area after the south tower collapsed.Thomas Nilsson/Getty Images 23 of 56Civilians escape downtown Manhattan after one of the two towers collapses.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 24 of 56A shocked survivor is brought to his knees after witnessing the horrors of the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in under two hours.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 25 of 56Smoke emanates from the Pentagon after the attack.Alex Wong/Getty Images 26 of 56A man falls to his death from the World Trade Center. Many chose to jump instead of facing the fires within. Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 27 of 56The entrance to the World Financial Center just after the attacks. It would be buried by 110 stories crashing down minutes later.Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 28 of 56A view from a distance of the Pentagon after the plane struck its southwestern side.Alex Wong/Getty Images 29 of 56At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.Wikimedia 30 of 56It took the 110-floor Twin Towers 56 and 102 minutes to collapse from the resulting structural damage.Wikimedia 31 of 56After the attacks, it took more than eight months to clear the wreckage from the World Trade Center, with the last rubble removed in May 2002.Wikimedia 32 of 56The view of south Manhattan from Brooklyn after both World Trade Center towers collapsed.Wikimedia 33 of 56The toxic dust that surged from the buildings has created long-term health issues for survivors and responders, including elevated incidences of cancer and decreased lung functionality.Wikimedia 34 of 56Firefighters search through the rubble for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.Getty Images 35 of 56Firefighters paid a tremendous price for their bravery in response to the attack, with hundreds dying during rescue efforts.Getty Images 36 of 56A German Shepherd, part of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center. Nearly 100 dogs were a part of the search and rescue effort.Wikimedia 37 of 56The plume from the September 11th attacks in New York as photographed from space by NASA.Wikimedia 38 of 56A United States Geological Survey map captures the size of the plume from the attacks.Wikimedia 39 of 56A woman flees from the collapsing towers.New York Magazine 40 of 56A person jumps from smoke and flames at the World Trade Center.Robert Giroux/Getty Images 41 of 56Workers emerge from the dust of the rubble around the World Trade Center complex.James Nachtwey 42 of 56A woman searches for her friend who worked at the World Trade Center.Getty Images 43 of 56Rescuers pull out the body of Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain for the New York Fire Department.James Nachtwey 44 of 56A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.Mario Tama/Getty Images 45 of 56All told, the economic damage from the September 11th terrorist attacks totaled more than $3 trillion.Twitter 46 of 56The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Twitter 47 of 56In addition to 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel also died during the attacks.Getty Images 48 of 56A firefighter searches through the wreckage.Getty Images 49 of 56September 11th caused the U.S. stock market to remain closed until September 17th.Wikimedia 50 of 56Firefighters put out a fire in the aftermath of the attacks.TIME 51 of 56A man holds a sign with his blood type while in line to donate blood in downtown New York.James Nachtwey 52 of 56For three days following 9/11, no civilian flights flew to or from the United States.TIME 53 of 56Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris spread across Manhattan due to the Twin Towers’ collapse, which has been linked to illnesses in more than 18,000 New York City residents.Wikimedia 54 of 56A rescue worker rests next to a car turned upside down. Photographer James Nachtwey described the worker as having “eyes were rimmed in black, and he had a thousand-yard stare.“James Nachtwey 55 of 56A firefighter looks at the remains of the South Tower.Wikimedia 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day View Gallery
On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced the worst assault ever carried out on American soil and the deadliest terrorist attack in world history.
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1 of 56Shocked and in sheer disbelief, many New Yorkers simply stood in the street and watched the World Trade Center towers smolder.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 2 of 56A distant view of the burning towers as seen from Brooklyn. Neville Elder’s photographs of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 were published around the world. He returned to the same spots 10 years later to capture New York City as it was in 2011. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images 3 of 56New York Daily News staff photographer David Handschuh is carried to safety after his leg was shattered by falling debris while photographing the attack.Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images 4 of 56Countless people were covered in ash and forced to inhale smoke while the area around the World Trade Center was being evacuated.Mario Tama/Getty Images 5 of 56A man standing on the hood of a car screams out for a missing friend as the World Trade Center’s towers collapse.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images 6 of 56President George W. Bush learns of the attacks while sitting in front of a class of children at a school event in Florida.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images 7 of 56New Yorkers gather in the street and watch the World Trade Center go up in flames.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 8 of 56An unidentified NYFD firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the towers collapse.Anthony Correia/Getty Images 9 of 56Mike Scott from California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through WTC rubble for living or dead victims of the attack.Andrea Booher/FEMA/Getty Images 10 of 56One of the many trapped victims opting to leap to their death rather than be consumed by the intense heat and fire of the burning buildings.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 11 of 56Horrified onlookers stare in disbelief at the WTC inferno as smoke and ash fill the air.Mario Tama/Getty Images 12 of 56A sobbing woman reacts in horror as she looks up at the World Trade Center.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 13 of 56A firefighter emerging from the debris-filled smoke that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 14 of 56A NYFD firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 15 of 56People run away from the World Trade Center as the second tower comes crashing down into its footprint, sending waves of debris down the streets.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 16 of 56The enormous amount of wreckage produced by the the three collapsed buildings, as seen through a broken office window.ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images 17 of 56A solitary fire fighter standing amidst rubble and smoke from fires still burning days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mai/Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 18 of 56A New York firefighter gazes at the rubble of one of the towers just after the collapse.Wikimedia Commons 19 of 56Members of the U.S. Coast Guard watch the towers in the wake of the attacks.U.S. Coast Guard 20 of 56Retired Fire Chief Joseph Curry screams his orders to the rescue teams as they wade through the debris that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 21 of 56President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assess the damage at the Pentagon the day after 9/11.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images 22 of 56Injured people, covered in ash and debris, evacuate the World Trade Center area after the south tower collapsed.Thomas Nilsson/Getty Images 23 of 56Civilians escape downtown Manhattan after one of the two towers collapses.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 24 of 56A shocked survivor is brought to his knees after witnessing the horrors of the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in under two hours.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 25 of 56Smoke emanates from the Pentagon after the attack.Alex Wong/Getty Images 26 of 56A man falls to his death from the World Trade Center. Many chose to jump instead of facing the fires within. Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 27 of 56The entrance to the World Financial Center just after the attacks. It would be buried by 110 stories crashing down minutes later.Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 28 of 56A view from a distance of the Pentagon after the plane struck its southwestern side.Alex Wong/Getty Images 29 of 56At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.Wikimedia 30 of 56It took the 110-floor Twin Towers 56 and 102 minutes to collapse from the resulting structural damage.Wikimedia 31 of 56After the attacks, it took more than eight months to clear the wreckage from the World Trade Center, with the last rubble removed in May 2002.Wikimedia 32 of 56The view of south Manhattan from Brooklyn after both World Trade Center towers collapsed.Wikimedia 33 of 56The toxic dust that surged from the buildings has created long-term health issues for survivors and responders, including elevated incidences of cancer and decreased lung functionality.Wikimedia 34 of 56Firefighters search through the rubble for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.Getty Images 35 of 56Firefighters paid a tremendous price for their bravery in response to the attack, with hundreds dying during rescue efforts.Getty Images 36 of 56A German Shepherd, part of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center. Nearly 100 dogs were a part of the search and rescue effort.Wikimedia 37 of 56The plume from the September 11th attacks in New York as photographed from space by NASA.Wikimedia 38 of 56A United States Geological Survey map captures the size of the plume from the attacks.Wikimedia 39 of 56A woman flees from the collapsing towers.New York Magazine 40 of 56A person jumps from smoke and flames at the World Trade Center.Robert Giroux/Getty Images 41 of 56Workers emerge from the dust of the rubble around the World Trade Center complex.James Nachtwey 42 of 56A woman searches for her friend who worked at the World Trade Center.Getty Images 43 of 56Rescuers pull out the body of Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain for the New York Fire Department.James Nachtwey 44 of 56A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.Mario Tama/Getty Images 45 of 56All told, the economic damage from the September 11th terrorist attacks totaled more than $3 trillion.Twitter 46 of 56The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Twitter 47 of 56In addition to 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel also died during the attacks.Getty Images 48 of 56A firefighter searches through the wreckage.Getty Images 49 of 56September 11th caused the U.S. stock market to remain closed until September 17th.Wikimedia 50 of 56Firefighters put out a fire in the aftermath of the attacks.TIME 51 of 56A man holds a sign with his blood type while in line to donate blood in downtown New York.James Nachtwey 52 of 56For three days following 9/11, no civilian flights flew to or from the United States.TIME 53 of 56Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris spread across Manhattan due to the Twin Towers’ collapse, which has been linked to illnesses in more than 18,000 New York City residents.Wikimedia 54 of 56A rescue worker rests next to a car turned upside down. Photographer James Nachtwey described the worker as having “eyes were rimmed in black, and he had a thousand-yard stare.“James Nachtwey 55 of 56A firefighter looks at the remains of the South Tower.Wikimedia 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
77 Historical Photos That Reveal The Triumph And Tragedy Of Humanity’s Past
55 Real Scary Pictures Pulled From The Darkest Corners Of Human History
Holocaust Photos That Reveal Heartbreaking Tragedy Only Hinted At In The History Books
1 of 56Shocked and in sheer disbelief, many New Yorkers simply stood in the street and watched the World Trade Center towers smolder.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 2 of 56A distant view of the burning towers as seen from Brooklyn. Neville Elder’s photographs of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 were published around the world. He returned to the same spots 10 years later to capture New York City as it was in 2011. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images 3 of 56New York Daily News staff photographer David Handschuh is carried to safety after his leg was shattered by falling debris while photographing the attack.Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images 4 of 56Countless people were covered in ash and forced to inhale smoke while the area around the World Trade Center was being evacuated.Mario Tama/Getty Images 5 of 56A man standing on the hood of a car screams out for a missing friend as the World Trade Center’s towers collapse.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images 6 of 56President George W. Bush learns of the attacks while sitting in front of a class of children at a school event in Florida.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images 7 of 56New Yorkers gather in the street and watch the World Trade Center go up in flames.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 8 of 56An unidentified NYFD firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the towers collapse.Anthony Correia/Getty Images 9 of 56Mike Scott from California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through WTC rubble for living or dead victims of the attack.Andrea Booher/FEMA/Getty Images 10 of 56One of the many trapped victims opting to leap to their death rather than be consumed by the intense heat and fire of the burning buildings.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 11 of 56Horrified onlookers stare in disbelief at the WTC inferno as smoke and ash fill the air.Mario Tama/Getty Images 12 of 56A sobbing woman reacts in horror as she looks up at the World Trade Center.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 13 of 56A firefighter emerging from the debris-filled smoke that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 14 of 56A NYFD firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 15 of 56People run away from the World Trade Center as the second tower comes crashing down into its footprint, sending waves of debris down the streets.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 16 of 56The enormous amount of wreckage produced by the the three collapsed buildings, as seen through a broken office window.ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images 17 of 56A solitary fire fighter standing amidst rubble and smoke from fires still burning days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mai/Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 18 of 56A New York firefighter gazes at the rubble of one of the towers just after the collapse.Wikimedia Commons 19 of 56Members of the U.S. Coast Guard watch the towers in the wake of the attacks.U.S. Coast Guard 20 of 56Retired Fire Chief Joseph Curry screams his orders to the rescue teams as they wade through the debris that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 21 of 56President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assess the damage at the Pentagon the day after 9/11.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images 22 of 56Injured people, covered in ash and debris, evacuate the World Trade Center area after the south tower collapsed.Thomas Nilsson/Getty Images 23 of 56Civilians escape downtown Manhattan after one of the two towers collapses.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 24 of 56A shocked survivor is brought to his knees after witnessing the horrors of the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in under two hours.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 25 of 56Smoke emanates from the Pentagon after the attack.Alex Wong/Getty Images 26 of 56A man falls to his death from the World Trade Center. Many chose to jump instead of facing the fires within. Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 27 of 56The entrance to the World Financial Center just after the attacks. It would be buried by 110 stories crashing down minutes later.Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 28 of 56A view from a distance of the Pentagon after the plane struck its southwestern side.Alex Wong/Getty Images 29 of 56At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.Wikimedia 30 of 56It took the 110-floor Twin Towers 56 and 102 minutes to collapse from the resulting structural damage.Wikimedia 31 of 56After the attacks, it took more than eight months to clear the wreckage from the World Trade Center, with the last rubble removed in May 2002.Wikimedia 32 of 56The view of south Manhattan from Brooklyn after both World Trade Center towers collapsed.Wikimedia 33 of 56The toxic dust that surged from the buildings has created long-term health issues for survivors and responders, including elevated incidences of cancer and decreased lung functionality.Wikimedia 34 of 56Firefighters search through the rubble for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.Getty Images 35 of 56Firefighters paid a tremendous price for their bravery in response to the attack, with hundreds dying during rescue efforts.Getty Images 36 of 56A German Shepherd, part of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center. Nearly 100 dogs were a part of the search and rescue effort.Wikimedia 37 of 56The plume from the September 11th attacks in New York as photographed from space by NASA.Wikimedia 38 of 56A United States Geological Survey map captures the size of the plume from the attacks.Wikimedia 39 of 56A woman flees from the collapsing towers.New York Magazine 40 of 56A person jumps from smoke and flames at the World Trade Center.Robert Giroux/Getty Images 41 of 56Workers emerge from the dust of the rubble around the World Trade Center complex.James Nachtwey 42 of 56A woman searches for her friend who worked at the World Trade Center.Getty Images 43 of 56Rescuers pull out the body of Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain for the New York Fire Department.James Nachtwey 44 of 56A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.Mario Tama/Getty Images 45 of 56All told, the economic damage from the September 11th terrorist attacks totaled more than $3 trillion.Twitter 46 of 56The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Twitter 47 of 56In addition to 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel also died during the attacks.Getty Images 48 of 56A firefighter searches through the wreckage.Getty Images 49 of 56September 11th caused the U.S. stock market to remain closed until September 17th.Wikimedia 50 of 56Firefighters put out a fire in the aftermath of the attacks.TIME 51 of 56A man holds a sign with his blood type while in line to donate blood in downtown New York.James Nachtwey 52 of 56For three days following 9/11, no civilian flights flew to or from the United States.TIME 53 of 56Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris spread across Manhattan due to the Twin Towers’ collapse, which has been linked to illnesses in more than 18,000 New York City residents.Wikimedia 54 of 56A rescue worker rests next to a car turned upside down. Photographer James Nachtwey described the worker as having “eyes were rimmed in black, and he had a thousand-yard stare.“James Nachtwey 55 of 56A firefighter looks at the remains of the South Tower.Wikimedia 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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Like this gallery?Share it:
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And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
77 Historical Photos That Reveal The Triumph And Tragedy Of Humanity’s Past
55 Real Scary Pictures Pulled From The Darkest Corners Of Human History
Holocaust Photos That Reveal Heartbreaking Tragedy Only Hinted At In The History Books
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1 of 56Shocked and in sheer disbelief, many New Yorkers simply stood in the street and watched the World Trade Center towers smolder.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 2 of 56A distant view of the burning towers as seen from Brooklyn. Neville Elder’s photographs of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 were published around the world. He returned to the same spots 10 years later to capture New York City as it was in 2011. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images 3 of 56New York Daily News staff photographer David Handschuh is carried to safety after his leg was shattered by falling debris while photographing the attack.Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images 4 of 56Countless people were covered in ash and forced to inhale smoke while the area around the World Trade Center was being evacuated.Mario Tama/Getty Images 5 of 56A man standing on the hood of a car screams out for a missing friend as the World Trade Center’s towers collapse.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images 6 of 56President George W. Bush learns of the attacks while sitting in front of a class of children at a school event in Florida.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images 7 of 56New Yorkers gather in the street and watch the World Trade Center go up in flames.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 8 of 56An unidentified NYFD firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the towers collapse.Anthony Correia/Getty Images 9 of 56Mike Scott from California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through WTC rubble for living or dead victims of the attack.Andrea Booher/FEMA/Getty Images 10 of 56One of the many trapped victims opting to leap to their death rather than be consumed by the intense heat and fire of the burning buildings.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 11 of 56Horrified onlookers stare in disbelief at the WTC inferno as smoke and ash fill the air.Mario Tama/Getty Images 12 of 56A sobbing woman reacts in horror as she looks up at the World Trade Center.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 13 of 56A firefighter emerging from the debris-filled smoke that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 14 of 56A NYFD firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 15 of 56People run away from the World Trade Center as the second tower comes crashing down into its footprint, sending waves of debris down the streets.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 16 of 56The enormous amount of wreckage produced by the the three collapsed buildings, as seen through a broken office window.ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images 17 of 56A solitary fire fighter standing amidst rubble and smoke from fires still burning days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mai/Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 18 of 56A New York firefighter gazes at the rubble of one of the towers just after the collapse.Wikimedia Commons 19 of 56Members of the U.S. Coast Guard watch the towers in the wake of the attacks.U.S. Coast Guard 20 of 56Retired Fire Chief Joseph Curry screams his orders to the rescue teams as they wade through the debris that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images 21 of 56President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assess the damage at the Pentagon the day after 9/11.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images 22 of 56Injured people, covered in ash and debris, evacuate the World Trade Center area after the south tower collapsed.Thomas Nilsson/Getty Images 23 of 56Civilians escape downtown Manhattan after one of the two towers collapses.Spencer Platt/Getty Images 24 of 56A shocked survivor is brought to his knees after witnessing the horrors of the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in under two hours.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 25 of 56Smoke emanates from the Pentagon after the attack.Alex Wong/Getty Images 26 of 56A man falls to his death from the World Trade Center. Many chose to jump instead of facing the fires within. Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images 27 of 56The entrance to the World Financial Center just after the attacks. It would be buried by 110 stories crashing down minutes later.Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images 28 of 56A view from a distance of the Pentagon after the plane struck its southwestern side.Alex Wong/Getty Images 29 of 56At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.Wikimedia 30 of 56It took the 110-floor Twin Towers 56 and 102 minutes to collapse from the resulting structural damage.Wikimedia 31 of 56After the attacks, it took more than eight months to clear the wreckage from the World Trade Center, with the last rubble removed in May 2002.Wikimedia 32 of 56The view of south Manhattan from Brooklyn after both World Trade Center towers collapsed.Wikimedia 33 of 56The toxic dust that surged from the buildings has created long-term health issues for survivors and responders, including elevated incidences of cancer and decreased lung functionality.Wikimedia 34 of 56Firefighters search through the rubble for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.Getty Images 35 of 56Firefighters paid a tremendous price for their bravery in response to the attack, with hundreds dying during rescue efforts.Getty Images 36 of 56A German Shepherd, part of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center. Nearly 100 dogs were a part of the search and rescue effort.Wikimedia 37 of 56The plume from the September 11th attacks in New York as photographed from space by NASA.Wikimedia 38 of 56A United States Geological Survey map captures the size of the plume from the attacks.Wikimedia 39 of 56A woman flees from the collapsing towers.New York Magazine 40 of 56A person jumps from smoke and flames at the World Trade Center.Robert Giroux/Getty Images 41 of 56Workers emerge from the dust of the rubble around the World Trade Center complex.James Nachtwey 42 of 56A woman searches for her friend who worked at the World Trade Center.Getty Images 43 of 56Rescuers pull out the body of Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain for the New York Fire Department.James Nachtwey 44 of 56A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.Mario Tama/Getty Images 45 of 56All told, the economic damage from the September 11th terrorist attacks totaled more than $3 trillion.Twitter 46 of 56The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Twitter 47 of 56In addition to 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel also died during the attacks.Getty Images 48 of 56A firefighter searches through the wreckage.Getty Images 49 of 56September 11th caused the U.S. stock market to remain closed until September 17th.Wikimedia 50 of 56Firefighters put out a fire in the aftermath of the attacks.TIME 51 of 56A man holds a sign with his blood type while in line to donate blood in downtown New York.James Nachtwey 52 of 56For three days following 9/11, no civilian flights flew to or from the United States.TIME 53 of 56Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris spread across Manhattan due to the Twin Towers’ collapse, which has been linked to illnesses in more than 18,000 New York City residents.Wikimedia 54 of 56A rescue worker rests next to a car turned upside down. Photographer James Nachtwey described the worker as having “eyes were rimmed in black, and he had a thousand-yard stare.“James Nachtwey 55 of 56A firefighter looks at the remains of the South Tower.Wikimedia 56 of 56Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 56Shocked and in sheer disbelief, many New Yorkers simply stood in the street and watched the World Trade Center towers smolder.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
2 of 56A distant view of the burning towers as seen from Brooklyn. Neville Elder’s photographs of downtown Manhattan on 9/11 were published around the world. He returned to the same spots 10 years later to capture New York City as it was in 2011. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images
3 of 56New York Daily News staff photographer David Handschuh is carried to safety after his leg was shattered by falling debris while photographing the attack.Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
4 of 56Countless people were covered in ash and forced to inhale smoke while the area around the World Trade Center was being evacuated.Mario Tama/Getty Images
5 of 56A man standing on the hood of a car screams out for a missing friend as the World Trade Center’s towers collapse.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
6 of 56President George W. Bush learns of the attacks while sitting in front of a class of children at a school event in Florida.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
7 of 56New Yorkers gather in the street and watch the World Trade Center go up in flames.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
8 of 56An unidentified NYFD firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the towers collapse.Anthony Correia/Getty Images
9 of 56Mike Scott from California Task Force-8 and his dog, Billy, search through WTC rubble for living or dead victims of the attack.Andrea Booher/FEMA/Getty Images
10 of 56One of the many trapped victims opting to leap to their death rather than be consumed by the intense heat and fire of the burning buildings.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images
11 of 56Horrified onlookers stare in disbelief at the WTC inferno as smoke and ash fill the air.Mario Tama/Getty Images
12 of 56A sobbing woman reacts in horror as she looks up at the World Trade Center.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
13 of 56A firefighter emerging from the debris-filled smoke that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images
14 of 56A NYFD firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images
15 of 56People run away from the World Trade Center as the second tower comes crashing down into its footprint, sending waves of debris down the streets.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images
16 of 56The enormous amount of wreckage produced by the the three collapsed buildings, as seen through a broken office window.ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images
17 of 56A solitary fire fighter standing amidst rubble and smoke from fires still burning days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mai/Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
18 of 56A New York firefighter gazes at the rubble of one of the towers just after the collapse.Wikimedia Commons
19 of 56Members of the U.S. Coast Guard watch the towers in the wake of the attacks.U.S. Coast Guard
20 of 56Retired Fire Chief Joseph Curry screams his orders to the rescue teams as they wade through the debris that was once the World Trade Center.U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images
21 of 56President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assess the damage at the Pentagon the day after 9/11.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
22 of 56Injured people, covered in ash and debris, evacuate the World Trade Center area after the south tower collapsed.Thomas Nilsson/Getty Images
23 of 56Civilians escape downtown Manhattan after one of the two towers collapses.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
24 of 56A shocked survivor is brought to his knees after witnessing the horrors of the attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in under two hours.Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images
25 of 56Smoke emanates from the Pentagon after the attack.Alex Wong/Getty Images
26 of 56A man falls to his death from the World Trade Center. Many chose to jump instead of facing the fires within. Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images
27 of 56The entrance to the World Financial Center just after the attacks. It would be buried by 110 stories crashing down minutes later.Mai/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
28 of 56A view from a distance of the Pentagon after the plane struck its southwestern side.Alex Wong/Getty Images
29 of 56At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade Center.Wikimedia
30 of 56It took the 110-floor Twin Towers 56 and 102 minutes to collapse from the resulting structural damage.Wikimedia
31 of 56After the attacks, it took more than eight months to clear the wreckage from the World Trade Center, with the last rubble removed in May 2002.Wikimedia
32 of 56The view of south Manhattan from Brooklyn after both World Trade Center towers collapsed.Wikimedia
33 of 56The toxic dust that surged from the buildings has created long-term health issues for survivors and responders, including elevated incidences of cancer and decreased lung functionality.Wikimedia
34 of 56Firefighters search through the rubble for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.Getty Images
35 of 56Firefighters paid a tremendous price for their bravery in response to the attack, with hundreds dying during rescue efforts.Getty Images
36 of 56A German Shepherd, part of the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, works to uncover survivors at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center. Nearly 100 dogs were a part of the search and rescue effort.Wikimedia
37 of 56The plume from the September 11th attacks in New York as photographed from space by NASA.Wikimedia
38 of 56A United States Geological Survey map captures the size of the plume from the attacks.Wikimedia
39 of 56A woman flees from the collapsing towers.New York Magazine
40 of 56A person jumps from smoke and flames at the World Trade Center.Robert Giroux/Getty Images
41 of 56Workers emerge from the dust of the rubble around the World Trade Center complex.James Nachtwey
42 of 56A woman searches for her friend who worked at the World Trade Center.Getty Images
43 of 56Rescuers pull out the body of Father Mychal Judge, the Chaplain for the New York Fire Department.James Nachtwey
44 of 56A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.Mario Tama/Getty Images
45 of 56All told, the economic damage from the September 11th terrorist attacks totaled more than $3 trillion.Twitter
46 of 56The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest foreign attack on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Twitter
47 of 56In addition to 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel also died during the attacks.Getty Images
48 of 56A firefighter searches through the wreckage.Getty Images
49 of 56September 11th caused the U.S. stock market to remain closed until September 17th.Wikimedia
50 of 56Firefighters put out a fire in the aftermath of the attacks.TIME
51 of 56A man holds a sign with his blood type while in line to donate blood in downtown New York.James Nachtwey
52 of 56For three days following 9/11, no civilian flights flew to or from the United States.TIME
53 of 56Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris spread across Manhattan due to the Twin Towers’ collapse, which has been linked to illnesses in more than 18,000 New York City residents.Wikimedia
54 of 56A rescue worker rests next to a car turned upside down. Photographer James Nachtwey described the worker as having “eyes were rimmed in black, and he had a thousand-yard stare.“James Nachtwey
55 of 56A firefighter looks at the remains of the South Tower.Wikimedia
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9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day View Gallery
9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day View Gallery
9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day View Gallery
9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day View Gallery
9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day
View Gallery
In the span of just 102 minutes, both of New York’s World Trade Center towers collapsed after planes hijacked by Al Qaeda operatives crashed into them. According to CNN, the attacks in downtown Manhattan that Tuesday in September left 2,753 people dead. That number rose to 2,977 with the assaults on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the plane that went down outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Thousands more were left injured, trillions of dollars of damage was done, and America would never be the same. The War on Terror would soon begin and the whole world eventually felt the effects of the fallen towers.
BETH A. KEISER/AFP/Getty ImagesFire and rescue workers search through the rubble of the World Trade Center’s collapsed towers two days after the attacks.
It all started with those tragic 102 minutes on that clear, late summer morning in New York. Revisit that tragedy with the arresting 9/11 pictures above, which represent the wide spectrum of horror, heartbreak, confusion, and courage of that traumatic day.
The Tragedy Of September 11, 2001
Even after seeing the most powerful 9/11 pictures, the true scope of the chaos is difficult to convey.
It all began at 8.46 AM when American Airlines Flight 11 — hijacked by five Al Qaeda operatives on its way from Boston to Los Angeles — crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At the time, people weren’t sure whether this was an accident made by an amateur pilot or due to some sort of malfunction, but that confusion would soon cease.
A CBS News segment showing the south tower being hit on live television.
As the North Tower’s crash site smoldered and smoke wafted across the sky, the world’s media kept its cameras trained firmly on the buildings. Then, at 9.03 AM, United Airlines Flight 175 — also traveling from Boston to Los Angeles — crashed into the South Tower. By this point, it was clear that New York City was under attack. By whom, or why, would remain a question for some time.
A CBS News segment showing the south tower being hit on live television.
American Airlines Flight 77 traveling from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles crashed into the Pentagon at 9.37 AM, tearing a massive hole into the side of the building. Just 22 minutes later, the unimaginable happened back in New York City: In around 10 seconds, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed into its footprint — reducing 110 stories to rubble forever.
A live report by Eyewitness News ABC7NY as the Twin Towers begin to collapse.
United Airlines Flight 93, meanwhile, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania a few minutes later. The San Francisco-bound flight had been hijacked by four Al Qaeda terrorists after departing Newark, New Jersey.
A live report by Eyewitness News ABC7NY as the Twin Towers begin to collapse.
The damage had already been staggering, but things were about to get even scarier. At 10.28 AM, the North Tower collapsed. Tower 7, said to be plagued by such intense fires that it gave out and buckled, collapsed at 5.21 p.m.
As the 9/11 pictures above clearly show, it was the deadliest day in American history.
The Aftermath Of The Terrorist Attacks And The 9/11 Pictures That Remain
President George W. Bush learned of the attacks while attending a reading at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. He addressed the nation on live television that night, stating that the government “will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” The seeds for the War on Terror had been planted.
Three days later, Bush stood among the rubble as well as New York’s firefighters and first responders, assuring them that the nearly 3,000 deaths caused by the attacks would not be in vain:
Soon, the U.S. would begin launching its strikes against terrorist groups and other suspected enemies around the world, with Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries eventually facing American military action. It’s unknown for certain how many people have died in the ongoing war that has spanned 2001 to the present, but one 2018 study from Brown University put the death toll as high as 507,000, with 244,000 of them civilian.
Meanwhile, the economic impact of 9/11 was astonishing. While the estimated cost of planning and executing the attacks themselves was around half a million dollars — cleanup and response costs were far greater, with $123 billion the estimated losses during just the first month post-9/11.
Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty ImagesFirst responders run away from the smoke, debris, and ash shooting down Manhattan’s streets after the buildings’ collapse.
The World Trade Center site suffered $60 billion in damage on September 11 while a $40 billion anti-terrorism package was approved by Congress on September 14. Nearly $10 billion in insurance claims stemming from the attacks were filed.
In terms of Ground Zero and the actual cleanup there, the work didn’t end until May 30, 2002. It cost $750 million to remove 1.8 million tons of debris — and 3.1 million hours of labor to do so.
The total cost of the attacks is estimated to be more than $3 trillion.
But no figures can truly capture the size of the tragedy. Perhaps the images of the towers that fell and the people who were there to bear witness can begin to convey the horror. Witness the historic devastation for yourself in the gallery of 9/11 pictures above.
After experiencing the most harrowing 9/11 pictures, see the tragedy of “The Falling Man” who died that day. Then, delve into some of the conspiracy theories about 9/11.
