New York City rescue workers dug for bodies in mountains of rubble Wednesday after hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center, collapsing its twin 110-story towers. New York was the hardest hit target in Tuesday's coordinated assault on American government and finance. Another plane slammed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed outside Pittsburgh. President Bush estimated the dead in the thousands. Seeking to reassure an anxious nation at the end of a day that saw the most devastating terrorist attacks ever waged against the United States, the president delivered a calm address Tuesday night from the Oval Office. Referring to what he called "despicable acts of terror," he said, "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of our resolve." Bush vowed retaliation. "The search is under way for those who have perpetrated these evil acts ... we will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these attacks and those who sheltered them." The attacks shook the nation as perhaps nothing since the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor. Government sources said they had evidence linking Osama bin Laden, Saudi-born sponsor of Islamic terrorism, to the attacks.
Bush's speech — his first prime-time Oval Office address, was in response to a series of historic attacks against the United States. On Tuesday morning, three hijacked commercial airliners loaded with passengers crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington. Both buildings at the World Trade Center collapsed after the coordinated suicide strikes that came without warning.
In the aftermath, federal officials grounded the nation's civilian air transportation system for the first time. That order will be in effect until noon Wednesday and may be extended.
At about 10:40 a.m. ET, two hours after the first crash, a fourth hijacked plane crashed near Somerset County Airport near Johnstown, Pa. Federal officials believe it was en route to Washington to participate in the attack. A passenger, locked in a restroom, phoned 911 on his cell phone to report the hijacking.
Establishing the U.S. death toll could take weeks. Officials of American and United Airlines, which each owned two of the jets, reported that 266 people were aboard the four planes, and there were no known survivors.
At the Pentagon, local fire officials told CNN that the number of dead could be as high as 800, but the number was not confirmed. In addition, a New York firefighters union official said he feared an estimated 300 firefighters had died in rescue efforts at the trade center — where 50,000 people worked — and dozens of police officers were believed missing.
The World Trade Center, among the world's tallest buildings, had been attacked and partially destroyed by Islamic terrorists using a truck bomb in 1993.
After the Tuesday attacks, the federal government moved quickly to place the nation on a full-scale security alert commensurate with an enemy attack.
In the aftermath, federal officials grounded the nation's civilian air transportation system for the first time. That order will be in effect until noon Wednesday and may be extended.
At about 10:40 a.m. ET, two hours after the first crash, a fourth hijacked plane crashed near Somerset County Airport near Johnstown, Pa. Federal officials believe it was en route to Washington to participate in the attack. A passenger, locked in a restroom, phoned 911 on his cell phone to report the hijacking.
Establishing the U.S. death toll could take weeks. Officials of American and United Airlines, which each owned two of the jets, reported that 266 people were aboard the four planes, and there were no known survivors.
At the Pentagon, local fire officials told CNN that the number of dead could be as high as 800, but the number was not confirmed. In addition, a New York firefighters union official said he feared an estimated 300 firefighters had died in rescue efforts at the trade center — where 50,000 people worked — and dozens of police officers were believed missing.
The World Trade Center, among the world's tallest buildings, had been attacked and partially destroyed by Islamic terrorists using a truck bomb in 1993.
After the Tuesday attacks, the federal government moved quickly to place the nation on a full-scale security alert commensurate with an enemy attack.
Intelligence officials said that for at least the past 10 days they had anticipated a possible attack by followers of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born financier of Islamic terror groups.
No comments:
Post a Comment