Eyewitness Report: WTC Crashes And Burns On IRC

Wednesday, 12 September 2001, 11:57 am
Article: The Scoop Editor

Another Eyewitness account of what it felt like in New York this morning. This time the account is relayed in the form of an Internet Relay Chat conversation between Jeremy in NZ and Glyn in NYC.

Jeremy says:So you saw it !
Jeremy says:the whole thing ?
Glyn says: This is how it went
Glyn says: 9:10am -- wake up, thinking "What was that?"
Glyn says: 9:15am -- turn on radio, hear "WTC hit by plane"
Glyn says: 9:16am -- run into Mum's room, open blinds
Glyn says: 9:17am -- Think "I *must* be dreaming, this CANNOT be happening -- we were on top of that building yesterday!!!"
Glyn says: 9:20am -- Take multiple photos out window (some on scoop.co.nz)
Glyn says: 9:50am -- Walk down to promenade
Glyn says: 10am (approx) -- Dude comes up to us and says "It's fallen! It fell down!"
Glyn says: 10am - 10:20am -- can't see Manhattan AT ALL, all white smoke. Getting covered in ash (camera is still ashed up)
Glyn says: 10:30am -- back in apartment, looking out window. Smoke clearing slightly, building 1 is shrouded in smoke but can make it out
Glyn says: Sometime later (within 5 mins) -- the building *shudders*, and starts to lean.
Glyn says: We watch it bend in half
Glyn says: Shredded windows and steel glittering in the sun
Glyn says: Falling to street
Glyn says: Smoke plumes
Glyn says: Thick black smoke everywhere
Glyn says: Rumble
Glyn says: THUD
Glyn says: White smoke
Glyn says: Then blue sky where those two towers were
Glyn says: Freaky shit
Jeremy says:I sense a great disturbance in the force
Glyn says: Oh yeah, that's so true
Glyn says: Very much like that
Glyn says: Mum said, when the building started to bend "Oh my God, all those people!"
Glyn says: And I felt utterly SICK
Glyn says: We watched that building fall over
Glyn says: And it was the ugliest, scariest thing I've ever seen
Glyn says: All that black smoke against the blue sky
Glyn says: Like a big, black rent in the world
Jeremy says:Horrible
Jeremy says:When I first heard this morn, I thought Glyn! and your Mum, certainly memorable now
Glyn says: Haha, yeah, you got that
Jeremy says:Ohio !
Glyn says: I should give you the world trade center tickets we have to keep in your money collection (they'd be safe)
Glyn says: 10-Sep-01 2:16pm -- welcome to the WTC
Glyn says: We would have been some of the last people up it
Glyn says: Cos it's gone now
Jeremy says:Another aircraft has crashed in the USA - this happened about 15 minutes ago. It is likely it is a USA Airforce aircraft.
Glyn says: Ooooh, where you reading that?
Jeremy says:check this, and yeah very valuable, frozen in time
Jeremy says: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0109/S00067.htm
Glyn says: Far out
Glyn says: This is amazingf
Glyn says: Scoop has it b4 CNN too
Jeremy says:Wow, might be just a normal crash thou
Jeremy says:those tickets, they could be worth something'
Glyn says: Yeah wondering that -- but who knows? Too many crashes
Glyn says: Could be, could be -- they're in mint condition!
Glyn says: But more than that, the memory of that building, standing on the top, the people in the shops and working the lifts etc, man -- that's awful
Jeremy says:It is really hard to fathom
Glyn says: The photos I have will be awesome, I reckon
Glyn says: 400 speed black and white film
Jeremy says:nice, pulitzer ?
Glyn says: Took both 50mm wide angle then zoomed right up with a 100mm telephoto
Glyn says: I imagine there are a shitload of photos and films!
Glyn says: CNN has some great footage on their site
Jeremy says:Yeah have seen
Jeremy says:you were kind of like standing on the grassy nole
Glyn says: Haha, bit like that, yeah
Glyn says: Frightening
Glyn says: Ripple in the force alright
Glyn says: Right, we're gonna get some dinner
Glyn says: Not in Manhattan though
Jeremy says:OK, take it easy
Glyn says: Cheers dude, cu

ENDS

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