US hit by worst ever terrorist strike

It was the worst attack on American soil since the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor 60 years ago. September 11, 2001 will be remembered as the USA's darkest day. People jumped out windows scores of stories above the ground to avoid being burned alive or buried in tons of steel, as the mighty twin towers of the World Trade Centre, in New York's southern Manhattan district, imploded one after the other. The collapse sent a massive cloud of dust and smoke over the city. The crisis began shortly before 9 a.m. local time when a hijacked plane slammed into the north tower in the heart of New York's financial district. With TV stations showing the scene live, a second plane slammed into the other tower. Officials fear the death toll could climb into the tens of thousands. 40,00 people work in the Trade Center, the symbol of America's financial power, and a nearby 47-storey building which collapsed hours later. The Pentagon, the nerve-centre of the country's military, was also severely damaged in a third kamikaze attack, and a fourth aircraft crashed into a wooded area near Pittsburgh. At least 266 people on board the diverted planes lost their lives. New York's police chief says is being done to rescue survivors still trapped in the rubble of buildings near the World Trade Centre. A doctor in a local hospital said hundreds of people were burned from head to toe. Rescue workers used commuter ferries to carry victims across the Hudson River to makeshift field hospitals, a scene resembling a war zone. President George W. Bush says he will "make no distinction" between terrorists and their hosts in the hunt for those responsible. US officials say the people who carried out the attacks may have had links to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden or his organization.

Third tower block collapses in New York

The twin towers of the World Trade Centre were reduced to rubble in yesterday's terrorist attack. Now a third tower block in Lower Manhattan has also been destroyed after its foundations were rocked by the explosions. It's feared tens of thousands of people were in the buildings starting their working day when two hi-jacked planes crashed into the Trade Centre towers. Debris and dust covers everything and smoke has continued to billow from the ruins of what used to be the heart of America's financial district. Eye witnesses say it looked as if a volcanoe had erupted. This is the United States most densely populated city of eight million people. It will be some time before the authorities are able to indicate just how many people have died and only than will lthe full extent of the USA's day of horror be known. then