The Twin Towers collapsed in New York City’s Manhattan borough on September 11, 2001.
The collapse happened after two planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers in the morning.
American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower at 8:46 a.m. EDT.
United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower at 9:03 a.m. EDT.
The south tower collapsed first, a little over an hour after it was struck. The north tower collapsed approximately 30 minutes later, at 10:28 a.m. EDT.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States says that more than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center, not including the hundreds on the planes. The New York City government says 2,750 people were killed in the attacks.
Another 125 people died at the Pentagon when a third airliner slammed into the western face.
The Centers for Disease Control said that of the people who died at the World Trade Center, about 2,000 were white, 215 were Black, 258 were Hispanic, and 176 were Asian or Pacific Islander.
People who died when the towers collapsed included people from a range of states and even from other countries. While about 1,700 were from New York City, 674 were from New Jersey. Others included Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, and Missouri.
Other countries included Australia, Bermuda, Canada, German, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
People who escaped the towers collapse are still dealing with the trauma.
Modesto Bee writer Claudia Newcorn described a friend who escaped but is still struggling over a decade later.
“My friend had worked in the World Trade Center for nearly 20 years. She had told me of the agony of hiking down 102 flights of stairs during the 1993 bombing in the below-ground parking garage when the elevators didn’t work. What I did not know was because of this, the company had relocated to the 40th floor after,” she wrote.
