When Americans woke up on September 11, 2001, they had no idea that their country would soon be under attack. New York City, alive with its usual hustle and bustle, was thrown into darkness as two hijacked planes struck the Twin Towers and reduced it to dust, leaving the skyline scarred forever. These attacks, carried out by the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda, occurred at a time when mobile phones were a luxury, and video cameras were even rarer. One of the students in the city, who recently got a camcorder, filmed the unfolding horror. The video not only captures the attack but also the raw emotion of those who witnessed the horror firsthand.
The video was recorded by Caroline Dries, a student at New York University at the time. Dries and her roommate were jolted awake by the sound of the first plane that crashed into the World Trade Center. As the video begins, thick black smoke is already billowing from the North Tower.
In the footage, Dries is heard saying, “A bomb just went off in the World Trade Center. It’s unbelieveable,” as she and her roommate struggle to comprehend what they saw.
“It looks like an airplane crashed into the building!” Dries says, trying to make sense of the situation. “Thank God it wasn’t terrorists, though,” she says, still unaware of the disaster that unfolded.
Her roommate, with a voice trembling with horror, asks, “What is that falling? Is that a person?”
Moments later, as the second tower erupts in flames, they cry out “Oh my God!” and scream for almost a minute.
They quickly rushed down to the street to know what was happening, only to find people going about their business as usual. They felt unsafe on the streets and came back to their apartment. As they sat by the window sipping apple juice, they witnessed the towers crumble into debris, a sight they described as “straight out of a horror movie”.
This particular moment of them enjoying Apple juice during the attack is the most viral video from the footage of the worst attack that took place in American history.
In a conversation with CNN, Dries shared their experience and said, “It was very chilling. It looked like a monster and like a dust cloud, consuming everything in its path.”
As the video resurfaced on the 23rd anniversary of the attack, social media users took to the comment section and shared their own views. While some recalled the horrifying memories of the attack, others opened up about Dries’ video. A user wrote, “That’s a freaking dorm room! Must be nice.”
Another explained, “Before the collapses, and the second plane, a lot of people figured it was just a freak accident, and more than likely the excitement had died down at that point. They were just watching a burning building for several minutes before anything happened.”
“They did react to that. That’s why they’re drinking and on edge already,” another user added.
One asked, “So they were in good spirits while the towers were attacked and burning? But got sad when they collapsed?”
A user got nostalgic and added, “Still makes me tear up seeing it fall and knowing how many people died that day.”
