From the moment the hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center to the survivors fleeing in panic from a huge cloud of smoke, more than two decades later, the images of September 11, 2001 are still shocking.
On that tragic day in New York, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks, and thousands more suffered and died from cancer related to the subsequent work around Ground Zero.
Here are some of the pictures from this Tuesday morning:
More: Facts about September 11 and how to mark the anniversary of September 11, 2001
The hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 flies toward the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center shortly before crashing into the South Tower, while the North Tower burns following an earlier attack by a hijacked plane in New York City on September 11, 2001.
First responders in front of the remains of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 15, 2001, after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In 2024, there are still over 37,000 confirmed 9/11 victims battling cancer and other serious physical and mental illnesses.
People walk on the street in the area where the World Trade Center buildings collapsed on September 11, 2001, after two planes flew into the Twin Towers in a suspected terrorist attack.
Volunteers donate blood at a blood donation station set up to help victims of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois.
Stranded travelers wait in the United Airlines terminal at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on September 11, 2001. Following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, all air traffic at the airport was suspended.
A stranded United Airlines passenger looks at a monitor at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on September 11, 2001. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, all air traffic at the airport was suspended.
Spectators look up as the World Trade Center goes up in flames in New York City on September 11, 2001, after two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in a suspected terrorist attack.
Patricia Petrowitz falls to her knees in prayer during a service at St. James Cathedral in Seattle on September 11, 2001, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. The cathedral was filled to standing room.
Spectators at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina witness smoke rising from the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001.
Unidentified bystanders witness smoke rising from the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina on September 11, 2001.
This article originally appeared in the El Paso Times: 9/11 Pictures: Images of the tragic day on September 11, 2001
