NEW YORK(AP)- In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in a coordinated series of attacks Tuesday morning that brought down the twin 110-story towers. An aircraft also crashed at the Pentagon, raising fears that the seat of government itself was under attack.
“I have a sense it’s a horrendous number of lives lost,” Mayor Rudolph Guilliani said. “Right now we have to focus on saving as many lives as possible.”
Authorities had been trying to evacuate those who work in the twin towers, but many were thought to have been trapped. About 50,000 people work at the Trade Center. American Airlines said its two aircraft were carrying a total of 156 people.
“This is perhaps the most audacious terrorist attack that’s ever taken place in the world,” said Chris Yates, an aviation expert at Jane’s Transport in London. “It takes a logistics operation from the terror group involved that is second to none. Only a very small handful of terror groups is on the list. . .I would name at the top of the list Osama bin Laden.”
President Bush ordered a full-scale investigation to “hunt down the folks who committed this act.”
