B-25&767 Hit WTC,3 Planes Hit Pentagon, Bomb Near WhiteHouse,PittsBHit,Who Coordinated?,10000Die

Markets slump after Trade Center blast Aircraft crash into World Trade Center, Pentagon

LONDON (FTMW) -Markets slumped to fresh year lows in the wake of what President Bush called "apparent terrorist" attacks.

Two planes crashed into the world Trade Center in New York causing the collapse of both towers of the building. Three planes are reported to have crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, causing part of the building to collapse.

The director of the World Trade Center said that up to 10,000 people could have been in each tower.

The White House, Pentagon and other key government buildings were evacuated, all flights in the U.S. have been grounded, and all incoming flights have been diverted to Canada.

The FTSE 100 [UK:1805550] slumped 5.7 percent to 4,746 and the FTSE TechMARK index [UK:1859502] finished 4.6 percent lower at 1,278.9. See pan-European markets report See London's volume movers at a glance <

Crude oil prices surged in the wake of the disaster, with October Brent Crude prices trading at $30.69 a barrel, up more than $3 a barrel. Oil majors were among the FTSE gainers, with BP [UK:BPA] up 4.9 percent and Shell [UK:SHEL] up 2.2 percent.

The only other FTSE gainer was aerospace and defence firm BAe Systems [UK:BA] which gained 4.7 percent.

Insurers plunged on the London market. CGNU [UK:CGNU] fell 9.9 percent, Royal Sun Alliance [UK:RSA] dropped 15.2 percent and Prudential [UK:PRU] slid 12.4 percent.

British Airways [UK:BAY] was another sharp decliner off 21 percent, with news of the grounding of all flights in the U.S. Airports operator BAA [UK:BAA] lost 16.4 percent.

Currency markets also saw wild swings in the wake of the U.S. attacks. Sterling reached a 6-month high against the dollar around 1.4690, and recently traded at 1.4630. The dollar spiked sharply against the euro, reaching a high around 0.9090, up from 0.8975 before the blast.

Gold surged in the wake of the news, rising $16 an ounce to $287 an ounce in London.

The New York stock exchange delayed the market open indefinitely. Sky News reported that Canary Wharf in London was also being evacuated, but Canary Wharf Group [UK:CWG] told FTMarketWatch the building was not being evacuated, but remained on standby. Canary Wharf shares fell 8 percent.

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Apparent terrorist attacks leveled the World Trade Center in New York and rocked the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning, causing pandemonium and terror in the nation's political and financial centers.

Both towers at the World Trade Center collapsed after two hijacked commercial jets crashed into the upper stories. In addition, part of the Pentagon building was said to have collapsed. The Associated Press reported there was a car bombing at the State Department in Washington.

President George W. Bush called the attack on the World Trade Center an "apparent" act of terrorism.

"Today, we've had a national tragedy," Bush said, addressing the nation from Sarasota, Fla., where he had been scheduled to deliver a speech about education.

A catastrophic series of events unfolded at about 8:45 a.m., Eastern. First, two airplanes struck Tower One of the World Trade Center and smoke billowed out of the top floors of the building, a business center and popular tourist attraction.

Then, approximately an hour later, Washington, D.C., was under attack in what was feared to be another act of terrorism.

Reports circulated at about 9:43 a.m. that the White House was evacuated. Fires broke out at the Pentagon and on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

The apparently well-coordinated attack on the World Trade Center occurred at rush hour as New Yorkers made their way to work in the Wall Street financial district in lower Manhattan.

In Brooklyn Heights, Dena Driver, an eyewitness to the collapse, held the hand of her 16-month-old son Liam and told CBS.MarketWatch.com: "I heard a loud crash, and you could see the building sinking, and everyone started crying.

"People were running in all directions. People with family in the buildings were there and crying," Driver said, speaking from a location just across the East River.

"In five minutes, you couldn't even see Manhattan," Driver said. "Smoke and ash were everywhere in Brooklyn Heights."

All airports around the U.S. were ordered closed by federal authorities and airline flights were halted nationwide. Further, international flights scheduled to land in New York and Washington were diverted to Canadian cities.

"Everybody's panicking," an eyewitness in New York shouted on a CNN broadcast not long after the tragedy occurred, underscoring the terror and confusion throughout the morning.

There were unconfirmed media reports that there were 1,000 injuries caused by the World Trade Center event.

The media reported that one of the airplanes was an American Airlines aircraft, a Boeing 767, whose flight originated from Boston.

The tragedy shattered a typically busy day in New York, which was gearing up for a mayoral primary election between Republican and Democratic candidates. The primaries were called off in the wake of the crisis

The FBI is reportedly investigating one or more possible hijacking cases Speculation was rampant that the New York Stock Exchange had been evacuated, potentially throwing into jeopardy the status of trading for the session. Calls placed to the main telephone number of the World Trade Center were not answered immediately after the news broke.

"Terrorism against our nation will not stand," President Bush said, calling for a moment of silence. He said he would call on the "full resources" of the U.S.

The disasters were the most devastating in the U.S. since a federal building was exploded in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people. On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the basement garage of the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring 1,000 more.

In what President George W. Bush called an "apparent terrorist attack," two airplanes flew into the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center just before 9 a.m.

today, leading to loss of life, paralyzing city ground and air traffic and halting trading on stock exchanges. The attack led the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to close all U.S. airports.

"Today we've had a national tragedy; two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country," Bush said in remarks broadcast after the incident.

Immediately after the explosions, officials at the Nasdaq Stock Market and New York Stock Exchange said they would suspend trading. By about 10:30 a.m., both of the twin towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed.

In addition, an explosion -- another apparent plane attack, according to media reports -- occurred at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, right after the World Trade Center incidents. Both the Pentagon and the White House were evacuated, as were buildings throughout major cities in the U.S.

No reports of the number of deaths or injuries were announced within the first hour of the attacks, though local eyewitnesses speaking on radio and television said they had seen bodies on the ground in the World Trade Center area.

One of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center was a Boeing 767 that had taken off from Boston and then was hijacked, according to media reports. Reports also said the plane was an American Airlines flight headed to Los Angeles.

"I've ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who have committed this act. Terrorism against this nation will not stand," Bush said in his remarks.

Major Internet news sites slowed to a crawl or became inaccessible. Telephone communication also became sluggish.

KABUL, Afghanistan (September 10, 2001 10:01 a.m. EDT) - The military chief of forces fighting Afghanistan's ruling Taliban was unconscious and in serious condition with head injuries Monday after a suicide bombing attack, his brother said.

Ahmed Shah Massood, 48, underwent emergency surgery at a hospital in Tajikistan after two men posing as journalists detonated a bomb that may have been hidden in a television camera. The blast Sunday in northern Afghanistan killed both bombers and one of Massood's spokesmen, said Bismillah Khan, another Massood spokesman.

The loss of Massood would devastate the opposition, already a fractured collection of groups who fought each other when they ruled much of Afghanistan for four years until the Taliban took control in September 1996. Their deposed government still holds Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations and operates embassies in several capitals of the world.

The Taliban, a hard-line Islamic militia, currently rules roughly 95 percent of the country, with Massood's alliance in control of the remaining 5 percent, mostly in the north.

Kahn accused the Taliban of sending the suicide bombers into Massood's territory. Taliban officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The opposition originally had said Massood only suffered leg wounds; however, Ahmed Wali, Massood's brother and the opposition's ambassador in Britain, said the injuries were more serious.

"The doctor says it will be 10 or 12 hours before we know" whether he will survive, Wali told The Associated Press by telephone. "His condition is stabilizing, but he is still unconscious. All we can do is rely on the doctors."

Wali said the veteran Afghan commander was flown immediately to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, following the explosion. Massood met briefly with several of his commanders before being operated upon, Wali said. He has been unconscious since the surgery.

The most serious injuries were head wounds caused by shrapnel. Massood also suffered wounds to his leg and hands.

Since the suicide bombing Sunday afternoon, there have been conflicting reports about the extent of Massood's injuries, with the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reporting his death.

According to Wali, the suicide bombers were traveling on Belgian passports, with a multiple Pakistani visa issued by the Pakistan embassy in London.

"The whole thing was organized by Pakistanis and some Arab circles, that was for sure," Wali said.

According Khan, the explosion happened soon after the interview began on Sunday around 4 p.m. at Massood's base in Khodja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan's Takhar province.

In addition to both bombers, the blast killed spokesman Azim Suhail, Khan said. Khan was reached by satellite telephone from Kabul, the Afghan capital, which is ruled by the Taliban.

The two bombers were welcomed into opposition territory as journalists. They first conducted interviews with opposition soldiers in Shomali, about 30 miles north of Kabul, then were taken to meet Massood, Khan said.

The bomb was either hidden in the camera or concealed around the waist of one of the bombers, said Mehrab Mastan, the opposition's ambassador in Paris, who spoke to AP by telephone.

Mastan said the interview was conducted in the office of Suhail, the spokesman. The two journalists and Suhail were sitting at one end of the room, with Massood several feet away.

Massood is the military head of the anti-Taliban alliance, whose political leader is ousted president Burhanuddin Rabbani. He was Rabbani's defense chief during his rule of most of Afghanistan from 1992 until 1996, when the Taliban took power.

He has repeatedly accused the Taliban of sending foreign fighters to the front line, particularly guerrillas from Arab countries and neighboring Pakistan. The Taliban have denied the accusation.

United Airlines says two planes crashed, one near Pittsburgh

By TODD SPANGLER

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- Two United Airlines jetliners crashed Tuesday morning, one near Pittsburgh and the second at a location the airline did not immediately disclose. A total of 110 people were aboard the two planes, the airline said.

One plane, United Flight 93, crashed north of the Somerset County airport, a small airport about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

''It shook the whole station,'' said Bruce Grine, owner of Grine's Service Center in Shanksville, about 2-1/2 miles from the crash. ''Everybody ran outside, and by that time the fire whistle was blowing.''

United said that flight, a Boeing 757, left Newark at 8:01 a.m., headed for San Francisco with 38 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants.

The airline said United Flight 175, a Boeing 767, also crashed but it did not give a location. That plane left Boston at 7:58 a.m., bound for Los Angeles with 56 passengers, two pilots and seven flight attendants, the airline said.

Because of attacks Tuesday at New York's World Trade Center, the Federal Aviation Administration had ordered all departing flights canceled nationwide, and any planes already in the air were to land a the nearest airport. The Pennsylvania crash came after the order was issued.

According to Somerset County dispatchers, Flight 93 crashed about 10 a.m. about 8 miles east of Jennerstown, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh reported.

Earlier Tuesday, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center and the twin 110-story towers collapsed. A plane also hit the Pentagon in Washington.

In Chicago, United CEO James Goodwin said the airline is working with authorities including the FBI. United said it was sending a team to Pennsylvania to assist in the investigation and to provide assistance to family members.

''Today's events are a tragedy and our prayers are with everyone at this time,'' Goodwin said.

At Boston's Logan Airport, Joseph Lawless, director of public safety for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said a family assistance center had been set up and families were arriving at the airport.

Taliban Deny Staging Bomb Attack

By KATHY GANNON

Associated Press Writer

Posted September 11 2001, 5:17 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's ruling Taliban say they had no hand in a suicide bomb that targeted Ahmed Shah Massood, the legendary leader of the country's opposition to hard-line Islamic rule.

Conflicting reports persisted Tuesday over whether Massood survived the bombing Sunday that killed his aide, Asam Suhail, as well as the bombers, two men posing as television journalists. The Russian news agency Itar/Tass reported that Massood had also died.

An opposition spokesman and Massood's brother in London have said he was gravely injured in the attack, but was not killed.

Massood, 48, has no obvious successor. His loss would devastate the opposition, already a fractured collection of groups who fought each other when they ruled much of Afghanistan for four years until the Taliban took control in September 1996. Their deposed government still holds Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations and operates embassies in several capitals.

The opposition blamed the bombing on the Taliban and neighboring Pakistan, which they say supports the Islamic militia with money and military training.

Massood's spokesman in Paris, Mehrabodin Masstan, suggested the bombing could be the work of Osama bin Laden, who is living in Afghanistan and is accused by Washington of blowing up two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998.

The Taliban denied any role in the attack.

"He was our direct enemy in the bunkers on the frontline, because we believe he is an enemy of the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan, but we had no hand in this terrorist attack," Abdul Rehman Ottaq, a senior foreign ministry official, said Tuesday.

The attack occurred at Khodja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan, according to an opposition spokesman, Abdullah, who uses only one name. The explosives were concealed in a television camera belonging to the bombers, believed to Arabic-speaking North Africans traveling with Belgian passports. They claimed to represent a news organization identified as Arab News International, Abdullah said.

Three people were wounded -- Abdullah's young nephew and the opposition's ambassador in India, in addition to Massood.

"Massood received the most serious injuries," Abdullah said.

Massood's brother, Ahmed Wali, the opposition's representative in London, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday that Massood's condition was critical. He said Massood had undergone surgery for shrapnel wounds to the head and had not regained consciousness since the operation.

It was unclear where Massood underwent surgery. Some reports said it was in a Russian field hospital on the Tajik border with Afghanistan. Others said Massood was too badly wounded to be moved from northern Afghanistan.

Wali left Britain late on Monday for Tajikistan.

Massood's northern alliance, called the United Front, is made up of smaller groups largely representing the country's minority ethnic and religious groups.

Former enemies who fought bitterly against each other when they ruled Kabul between 1992 and 1996, they rallied together under Massood's charismatic leadership to try to stop the Taliban from gaining full control of the country.

Successive battlefield victories by the Taliban forced Massood's alliance out of key strongholds and restricted them to pockets in the Panjshir Valley and a handful of provinces in northern Afghanistan. Massood is often referred to as the "Lion of the Panjshir."

In the beleaguered capital of Kabul there was sadness at the news of the suicide bombing and the prospect of Massood's death.

"Even if you don't support him, he was someone who could maybe force the Taliban to soften their attitude toward the people," said Mohammed Idrees, who runs a small ramshackle shop tucked away in a narrow dusty lane.

Spy Plane Shot Down

Sky News

Sept. 11, 2001

Iraq has shot down a second unmanned American spy plane in the southern no-fly zone.

The Pentagon confirmed it had lost contact with the reconnaissance Predator drone which had been on a mission in southern Iraq.

"We have lost control of the aircraft. We no longer have a data link," said Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman.

Spy data

Iraq claimed it had shot the aircraft down hours before the Pentagon revealed it had lost touch with the drone during one of its patrols.

Last month another Predator was shot down by Iraq's air defence crews.

The aircraft fly slowly over the zone they are observing and beam live information back to mission control centres.

British and American warplanes have stepped up attacks in the no-fly zones which were set up after the Gulf War to protect Kurds in the north and marsh Arabs in the south.

Dangerous mission

So far no manned aircraft have been shot down but the US has warned the chances of this happening have increased as Saddam rebuilds his air defence systems.

Last Modified: 13:44 UK, Tuesday September 11, 2001

http://www.sky.com/skynews/storytemplate/storytoppic/0,,30200-1029100,00.html

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Capitol, Disney, closed, local officials on alert after attacks

By KEN THOMAS

Associated Press Writer

The state Capitol, Walt Disney World, airports, courthouses and public universities across Florida were shut down and President Bush cut short his trip to Sarasota following the attacks Tuesday on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Federal, state and emergency officials gathered to assess potential safety threats in the state as attacks in New York and Washington caused a ripple effect of concern for public safety throughout the nation.

''We do not have a credible threat to the state of Florida,'' Mike Delorenzo, Florida's emergency response chief said after briefings to emergency operations center staff in Tallahassee.

Security was increased for Gov. Jeb Bush, who said it was ''appropriate'' to evacuate the Capitol ''given the randomness of the attack and the fact it is a high profile building.''

''This is a very, very sad day. We're doing what we need to do with the state to prepare for this,'' said Bush, the president's brother. ''I don't anticipate this going on for a long period of time. That's what these terrorists would like.''

Disney World, one of the world's most popular vacation destinations, closed its theme parks and sent employees home, spokeswoman Rena Callahan said. Busch Gardens in Tampa, Sea World Orlando and Discovery Cove in Orlando also closed. Universal Studios said it was evaluating security.

Security was heightened at military bases across the state.

Officials at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, home to U.S. Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle East, said it was in ''a state of increased security vigilance,'' in response to a directive from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

All personnel not assigned to the base or not living on base were told to leave. Only those holding Department of Defense identification were permitted on base.

The nationwide airport shutdown disrupted some of the country's busiest airports in Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

Twenty-five commercial flights were diverted to Jacksonville International Airport, stranding passengers -- including tennis star Venus Williams -- and swamping rental car booths.

Passengers at Orlando International Airport were riveted in the restaurants and bars as they watched the attacks unfold on television.

''It's despicable and horrific,'' said Ned Grace, 50, of Windermere, waiting for a friend to arrive from Boston. ''This is the worst act of terrorism in world history. It's beyond belief.''

The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was closed and officials at Miami International Airport advised passengers to call their airlines before going to the airport.

The last flight to land at Miami International was an American Airlines flight that had departed Miami for Port au-Prince, Haiti. It had nearly arrived in Haiti when the pilot announced weather problems were forcing it to turn around.

When the plane landed, passengers were told about the attacks.

''When passengers learned of the real reason, ''People just got quiet,'' said Leroi Woods of Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

The attacks brought residents to a standstill.

''When I heard it, I froze. The whole gym just stopped and everybody gathered around the televisions,'' said Beres Baker, a personal trainer at Gold's Gym in Pembroke Pines. ''The music stopped and everybody was calm, just confused.''

Scott Coogler, a bus supervisor from Hialeah Gardens with Dollar Rent-A-Car, was being questioned for jury service in a Miami courtroom when a marshal told potential jurors to go home.

''The federal building, you just don't know,'' Coogler said. ''I'm on the 11th floor. Something happens, I'm toast.''

President Bush was reading to children at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota when an aide told him about reports of the attack.

Before boarding Air Force One, the president vowed to ''conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who caused this act. Terrorism against our nation will not stand.''

The Kennedy Space Center was under an ''enhanced security awareness.'' NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin in Washington was speaking with Kennedy Space Center management and Patrick Air Force Base officials about what type of threat condition to go into here.

Federal courthouses in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Key West were closed for the rest of the day Tuesday and Wednesday. State courts were closed in Miami and Orlando.

The state closed its 11 public universities and officials said a decision will be made on whether they will remain closed on Wednesday.

In Tallahassee, the governor and the state Cabinet met for an hour Tuesday before they adjourned and Bush left to meet with state emergency management officials.

From:

http://www.gainesvillesun.com/articles/2001-09-11jj.shtml

Israeli Tanks Blockade Town

Sky News

Sept. 11, 2001

Israeli tanks have blocked the town of Jenin in an apparent response to a spate of suicide bomb attacks.

Tanks rolled up to the edge of the town in the early hours of Tuesday - four Palestinians were seriously wounded in exchanges with Israeli troops.

'Terrorism nest'

Jenin is seen by Israel as a key Hamas town and a launchpad for the suicide bombers that have brought death and destruction to Jerusalem and northern coastal towns.

Israel said the operation, which involved about 17 tanks, was to prevent suicide bombers leaving the town. It did not say how long the operation would last.

"Access roads to the city have been blocked and they are under the full control of the Israeli army, in order to prevent the movement of terrorists into Israel," an Army statement said.

The move follows another bloody weekend in which a bomber killed three Israelis and injured dozens more in the northern town of Nahariya.

Arafat talks

The operation has overshadowed a planned meeting on Tuesday between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. No time or location has been set for the talks.

It is hoped the two men can secure a ceasefire as a springboard to more talks and an end to the year of violence which has left 559 Palestinians and 165 Israelis dead.

But the signs are not good. Previous ceasefires have lasted just hours before the sound of gunshots can be heard echoing around Gaza and the West Bank.

In separate incident, two Israeli border guards were killed and another wounded when Palestinian gunmen fired on their base in northern Israel.

Last Modified: 08:55 UK, Tuesday September 11, 2001

http://www.sky.com/skynews/storytemplate/storytoppic/0,,30200-1029046,00.html

Chaotic scene of devastation unfolds on national television

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 By DAVID BAUDER

AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- A chaotic scene of devastation unfolded on national television Tuesday with cameras catching a plane crashing into the World Trade Center and the subsequent collapse of both of the towers.

Television networks began live coverage of a morning of terrorism at the time the first plane hit the New York City landmark. With cameras trained on the smoking skyscraper, television caught the second plane crashing into the other tower, footage replayed several times.

As the terror spread, CNN showed a split screen view of the smoking World Trade Center and the Pentagon, where smoke billowed from another plane crash.

Reports spread as fast as television could detail them -- planes grounded across the country, the White House evacuated, an apparent explosion on Capitol Hill -- while commentators tried to keep calm.

''This may be one of the worst tragedies ever to strike this country,'' said MSNBC's John Siegenthaler.

A producer from CNN, Rose Arce, reported people jumping from the World Trade Center and described the chaos gripping lower Manhattan.

Cameras then caught the collapse of both of the twin towers, showing white smoke billowing throughout the streets of lower Manhattan. A shaken Ashleigh Banfield reporting on MSNBC described debris showering around.

''Oh, my God,'' a breathless Banfield said. ''It's just unbelievable.''

C-SPAN took phone calls from shaken citizens. One caller from California said: ''This is a sign to America: We think we are the strongest country and they hit us; they knew where to hit us.''

Stock trading stopped after World Trade Center disaster; New York Stock Exchange is nearby

By LISA SINGHANIA AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street shut down Tuesday after two separate planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

Much of the downtown district, including the nearby Financial Center. It was also difficult to make phone calls to the downtown business district and throughout Manhattan.

Trading was suspended at the New York Stock Exchange, and officials were deciding whether to shut for the entire day. The Nasdaq Stock Market said it was still considering an 11:30 a.m opening, but no final decision had been made.

Other markets did close: the American Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The nearby World Financial Center, which houses the NYMEX, was also evacuated.

An apparent similar attack on the Pentagon in Washington and reports of the collapse of one of the World Trade Center skyscrapers in Washington added to the paralysis and terror already engulfing the financial district.

''The two explosions were incredible and at the point of explosions all you could see outside were personal belongings and office supplies raining outside,'' said Bob Rendine, an American Stock Exchange spokesman, whose office is down the block from the NYSE. ''We're staying here. We think it's safer to stay inside then go outside at this point.''

Business and trading in other parts of the country also were affected. The Chicago Board of Trade also suspended all trading effective, 10:15 a.m.

Around the country and world, the investment community was focused on the fate of people working in the buildings affected by the apparent terrorist attacks.

''I'm just worried about people who are there,'' said Robert Harrington, head of listed block trading at UBS Warburg's office in Connecticut.

September 11, 2001

New York City Shuts Down

New York Times

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Transportation Information (September 11, 2001)

NEW YORK -- Terrorist attacks at the peak of rush hour paralyzed Manhattan, shutting down subway lines, crippling cellular phone service, and forcing evacuations from Wall Street to the United Nations.

The mayor closed lower Manhattan to make way for emergency vehicles. Thousands of people left by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The election was called off. The airports were closed. Trading on Wall Street was suspended. The United Nations building was evacuated. Offices throughout Manhattan closed. Children were kept in their schools because their parents could not get to them.

Victims from the attack on the World Trade Center -- many suffering from extensive burns -- began arriving at hospitals in New York City about an hour after the two planes slammed into the twin towers, witnesses said Tuesday.

"Hundreds of people are burned from head to toe," said Dr. Steven Stern at St. Vincent's Hospital in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of lower Manhattan.

About 50 or 60 doctors and nurses were standing in scrubs and uniforms waiting for the next wave of ambulances to come in. The first wave arrived around 10 a.m. EDT, doctors said.

The entire entrance to the emergency room was lined with stretchers covered with white sheets.

Doctors said the victims mostly had burns.

"So far we've received a few patients, mostly second-degree burns," Dr. Gary Fishman at St. Vincents said. "We are expecting the brunt of the people to arrive soon."

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was forced to evacuate from his building, told New Yorkers to remain in their homes or businesses, unless they are located south of Canal Street. People in the downtown area are advised to head north and clear out the streets.

"Remain calm and try to assist in the rescue effort and pray," Giuliani said. "The main thing is having these streets open so we can move people out of there."

Most of the early patients were being sent to New York University's Downtown Hospital and to St. Vincent's.

At about 8:45 a.m. EDT, a plane struck one the north tower of the landmark complex in lower Manhattan, and the building was soon engulfed in flames. Moments later a second plane struck the south tower.

Both towers of the complex collapsed, the first falling about 75 minutes later and the second crashing half an hour after that. The entire south end of Manhattan was engulfed in smoke and airborne debris.

"The whole of lower Manhattan is coated in half an inch of dust," Reuters reporter Daniel Sternoff said.

People were fleeing the area in a panic.

At St. Vincents, hospital staff appealed for blood donors in the street, Reuters reporter Ian Driscoll said. The line to give blood was over 100 people long.

"We expect smoke inhalation, trauma, and burns," Dr. Bernd Reisbeck said. "I expect we will be working non-stop for at least the next 24 hours."

At every pay phone, people were lined up a dozen deep to call loved ones, but many ended up hanging up in frustration at the profusion of busy signals. At one pay phone in Greenwich Village, a woman was sobbing into the phone, saying she didn't know whether a loved one was OK.

Cell phone service throughout Manhattan was interrupted. Regular phone service was congested, forcing many callers to dial repeatedly to get through. AT&T shut down its entire phone and communications system in Manhattan, according to a spokesman, who declined to give his name.

Bridges and tunnels leading also were closed, a Port Authority spokeswoman said, leaving hundreds of trucks and cars stuck as they tried to enter the city.

All subway lines stopped running, said Bob Slovak, spokesman for NYC Transit.

Rockefeller Center, the complex of offices and shops that is a favorite tourist destination in the heart of the city, was among the buildings where property managers urged tenants to go home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/11/nyregion/11CND-NYC.html

Attacks disrupt communications

Computer World

IDG News

Sprint ran 27 wideband circuits through the World Trade Center

By BOB BREWIN

(September 11, 2001) The collapse of the two World Trade Center towers in New York this morning has already started to take its toll on the nation's communications backbone, with Sprint Corp. reporting traffic disruptions caused by the collapse of the towers on 27 DS3 circuits and switches housed in the basement.

Spokesman for the two other carriers, AT&T Corp. and WorldCom Inc., couldn't be reached. Calls placed to AT&T offices in Basking Ridge, N.J., and WorldCom offices in Washington couldn't get through, potentially indicative of a larger problem.

Mark Bonovia, a spokesman for Sprint in Kansas City, Mo., said the company didn't "know the extent of the traffic disruptions" as of 10 a.m. EDT or whether the company's nationwide network had started to "shunt" itself from the New York circuits.

Sprint has all but evacuated its Washington office, according to spokesman James Fisher, although the evacuation was on a voluntary basis. Fisher said, "We're right across the street from the FBI building. ... No one really wants to stay here."

The nationwide Defense Department communications network appears to have survived the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Lt. Cmdr. Greg Geisen, spokesman for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), with headquarters in San Diego, said SPAWAR has "full connectivity" with the Naval and Marine Corps Intranet operated by Electronic Data Systems Inc., with circuits provided by WorldCom. Geisen added that SPAWAR has increased its security level to ThreatCon Charlie, one of the highest states of alert, with the highest level ThreatCon Delta.

http://www.idg.net/crd_idgsearch_2.html?url=http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV47_STO63712,00.html.html

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