The terrorist September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda resulted in 2,996 immediate (attack time) deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims.[1] 372 foreign nationals (excluding the 19 perpetrators) perished in the attacks, representing just over 12% of the total. The immediate deaths include 246 victims on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the World Trade Center and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon.[2][3] About 292 people were killed at street level by burning debris and falling bodies of those who had jumped from the World Trade Center's windows. All the deaths in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon.[4] Some immediate victims were not added to the list until years later.
More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center.[5] The foreign countries with the highest losses are the United Kingdom (including the British overseas territory of Bermuda) with 67, the Dominican Republic with 47, and India with 41.
In 2007, the New York City medical examiner's office began to add people to the official death toll who died of illnesses caused by exposure to dust from the site. The first such victim was a woman who had died in February 2002 from a lung condition.[6] In 2009, a man who died in 2008 was added,[7] and in 2011 a man who died in 2010.[8]
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At the time of the attacks, media reports suggested that tens of thousands might have been killed, as on any given day upwards of 100,000 people could be inside the towers. Estimates of the number of people in the Twin Towers when attacked on September 11, 2001 range between 14,000 and 19,000. NIST estimated that approximately 17,400 civilians were in the World Trade Center complex at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks.[9] Turnstile counts from the Port Authority indicate that the number of people typically in the Twin Towers by 10:30 a.m. was 14,154.[10]
Workers who were in the process of leaving the South Tower after the North Tower had been attacked were told to return to their offices. It was announced over the public address system that the building was secure and that it was safe to return to their offices. Many did return and many lost their lives after the second plane struck.[11][12][13]
Only 20 people escaped from the impact zone of the South Tower after it was hit and only four people from the floors above it. Individuals escaped from as high up on the South Tower as the 91st floor after initial impact. They escaped via Stairwell A, the only stairwell which had been left intact after the impact. It is speculated that Stairwell A in the South Tower was not only intact after the impact of United Airlines Flight 175, but that it was also passable until the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM. Since communication between 911 operators, FDNY and NYPD responders was disorganized, most individuals who were trapped were unaware of the passable status of Stairwell A and were instead told to wait for assistance by rescue personnel.[14]
After the collapse of the towers, only 23 survivors who were in or below the towers escaped from the debris, including 15 rescue workers. The last survivor to be removed alive from the WTC collapse debris was removed from the ruins of the North Tower 27 hours after its collapse.[15] The search for survivors did find others who had survived for days under the rubble pile. These people were found with "Life Detector" listening equipment. With this special equipment, their voices could be heard. Rescuers at the surface told them, "If you can hear me, tap on a pipe" and metallic taps were heard in response. But a path through the debris could not be cleared quickly enough to get to them before they succumbed to their injuries. A total of 6,294 people were reported to have been treated in area hospitals for injuries related to the 9/11 attacks in New York City.
Before the Twin Towers collapsed, an estimated 200 people fell to their deaths from the burning towers, landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below.[16] To witnesses watching, a few of the people falling from the towers seemed to have jumped,[16] including the person whose photograph became known as The Falling Man. The NIST report describes the deaths of 104 jumpers, but states that it likely understates the total number. The sight and sound of "one, two, three, four [jumpers], smashing like eggs on the ground" horrified and traumatized firefighter and police witnesses. The jumpers' death certificates, like most other victims', states the cause of death as homicide from "blunt trauma".[17]
Some of the occupants of each tower above its point of impact made their way upward toward the roof in hope of helicopter rescue, only to find the roof access doors locked. Port Authority officers attempted to unlock the doors but control systems would not let them; but in any case, thick smoke and intense heat would have prevented rescue helicopters from landing.[18]
Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer.[19] Marsh Inc., located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–101 (the location of Flight 11's impact), lost 295 employees and 63 consultants.[20][21] Risk Waters was holding a conference in Windows on the World at the time, with 81 people in attendance.[22][23]
John P. O'Neill was a former assistant director of the FBI who assisted in the capture of Ramzi Yousef and was the head of security at the World Trade Center when he was killed trying to rescue people from the South Tower.[24] An additional 24 people remain listed as missing.[25]
The average age of the dead in New York City was 40.[26] The dead included eight children: five on American 77 ranging in age from 3 to 11, three on United 175 ages 2, 3, and 4.[27] The youngest victim was a 2-1/2 year-old child on Flight 175, the oldest an 82 year-old passenger on Flight 11. In the buildings, the youngest victim was 17 and the oldest was 79.[28]
Of the 125 victims in the Pentagon, 70 were civilians and 55 were military personnel.[29] Lieutenant General Timothy Maude was the highest ranking military official killed at the Pentagon.[30]
Fatalities included the following:
The following list details the number of casualties reported by companies that occurred at the World Trade Center. The list includes WTC tenants (all buildings), vendors, visitors, independent emergency responders, and some hijacked passenger-related firms.[42]
| Company | Casualties |
|---|---|
| Cantor Fitzgerald | 658 |
| Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. | 358 |
| Aon Corporation | 175 |
| Fiduciary Trust International | 87 |
| Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | 77 |
| Windows on the World | 72 |
| Carr Futures | 69 |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | 67 |
| Sandler O'Neill & Partners | 66 |
| Euro Brokers Inc. | 61 |
| New York State Department of Taxation and Finance | 39 |
| Fred Alger Management | 35 |
| Fuji Bank | 23 |
| Forte Food Service | 21 |
| ABM Industries | 17 |
| Risk Waters Group | 16 |
| General Telecom | 13 |
| Washington Group International | 12 |
| Summit Security Services | 11 |
| Morgan Stanley | 10 |
| Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Association | 8 |
| Alliance Consulting | 7 |
| American Express | 7 |
| Accenture | 6 |
| Harvey Young Yurman Inc. | 6 |
| Bronx Builders | 5 |
| Forest Electric Corp. | 5 |
| Harris Beach LLP | 5 |
| OCS Security | 5 |
| Regus | 5 |
| Baseline Financial Services | 4 |
| Compaq | 4 |
| Data Synapse | 4 |
| International Office Centers | 4 |
| Merrill Lynch | 4 |
| Mizuho Capital | 4 |
| Oracle Corporation | 4 |
| Pitney Bowes | 4 |
| Wachovia Corp. | 4 |
| Bank of America | 3 |
| Bank of New York | 3 |
| Bloomberg L.P. | 3 |
| Callixa | 3 |
| The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Co. | 3 |
| Citibank | 3 |
| Encompys | 3 |
| IPC Kleinknect Electric Co. | 3 |
| IQ Financial Systems | 3 |
| New York State Department of Transportation | 3 |
| Reinsurance Solutions Inc. | 3 |
| Structure Tone | 3 |
| SunGard | 3 |
| Thomson Financial Services | 3 |
| Zurich American Insurance | 3 |
| Advantage Security | 2 |
| BP Air Conditioning | 2 |
| Certified Installation Services | 2 |
| Denino Electric | 2 |
| Deutsche Bank | 2 |
| Devonshire Group | 2 |
| Fine Painting and Decorating | 2 |
| First Commercial Bank | 2 |
| FM Global | 2 |
| Franklin Templeton Investments | 2 |
| Genuity | 2 |
| Guy Carpenter | 2 |
| Imagine Software Inc. | 2 |
| Instinet (Reuters) | 2 |
| Studley Inc. | 2 |
| Keane (company) | 2 |
| Kidder Peabody-Paine Webber | 2 |
| Marriott World Trade Center Hotel | 2 |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. | 2 |
| New York Presbyterian Hospital | 2 |
| Nishi-Nippon Bank | 2 |
| Nomura Research Institute Ltd. | 2 |
| Ohrenstein & Brown | 2 |
| One Source Networks (Hudson Shatz) | 2 |
| P.E. Stone Inc. | 2 |
| Petrocelli Electric | 2 |
| Radianz | 2 |
| Random Walk Computing | 2 |
| Reuters | 2 |
| Rohde & Liesenfeld | 2 |
| Silverstein Properties | 2 |
| Slam Dunk Networks | 2 |
| Sybase | 2 |
| UBS PaineWebber | 2 |
| UME Voice | 2 |
| Verizon | 2 |
| Vestek | 2 |
| Xerox | 2 |
| Zurich Scudder Investments | 2 |
| A.L. Sarroff | 1 |
| Advent Corporation | 1 |
| AGI | 1 |
| Algorithmics Inc. | 1 |
| Allendale Insurance | 1 |
| American Stock Exchange | 1 |
| Aramark Corp | 1 |
| ARC Partners | 1 |
| ASAP NetSource | 1 |
| Association of Independent Recruiters | 1 |
| Avalon Partners | 1 |
| BEA Systems | 1 |
| Bear Stearns | 1 |
| BMO Nesbitt Burns | 1 |
| Boston Investor Services | 1 |
| Brinks | 1 |
| Cabrini Hospice | 1 |
| Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft | 1 |
| Cambridge Technology Partners | 1 |
| Caplin Systems | 1 |
| CBS | 1 |
| Chase Manhattan Bank | 1 |
| Civilian Complaint Review Board | 1 |
| Colonial Art Decorators | 1 |
| Consolidated Edison | 1 |
| Credit Suisse First Boston | 1 |
| Cultural Institution of Retirement Systems | 1 |
| Deloitte Consulting | 1 |
| Empire Distribution | 1 |
| EnPointe Technologies | 1 |
| F.M. Global | 1 |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | 1 |
| Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation | 1 |
| Fine & Schapiro restaurant | 1 |
| First Liberty Investment Group | 1 |
| Forest Hills Ambulance Corps | 1 |
| Frank W.Lin & Co. | 1 |
| G.M.P. Inc. | 1 |
| Garban Intercapital | 1 |
| GoldTier Technologies | 1 |
| Health Canada | 1 |
| Hill International | 1 |
| Holland & Knight | 1 |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 1 |
| IBM Global | 1 |
| Industrial Bank of Japan | 1 |
| Insurance Overload Systems | 1 |
| Internal Revenue Service | 1 |
| Janus Capital Group | 1 |
| Jennison Associates | 1 |
| Krestrel Technologies | 1 |
| LaBranche & Co. | 1 |
| Lanagan Engineering and Environmental Services | 1 |
| Lee Hecht Harrison | 1 |
| Lehman Brothers | 1 |
| LG Insurance Co. | 1 |
| Liberty Electrical Supply Inc. | 1 |
| LION bioscience AG | 1 |
| LJ Gonzer | 1 |
| MAS Security | 1 |
| May Davis Group | 1 |
| McKeon-Grano | 1 |
| Metrocare | 1 |
| Mitsui Bank | 1 |
| MoneyLine | 1 |
| NanoTek | 1 |
| National Acoustics Inc. | 1 |
| NSTAR | 1 |
| NTX Interiors | 1 |
| Office Centers Corp. | 1 |
| Optus | 1 |
| Pfizer Inc. | 1 |
| PM Contracting | 1 |
| Proven Electrical Contracting Inc. | 1 |
| QRS Corp. | 1 |
| Reliable | 1 |
| Rent-a-PC | 1 |
| Risk Solutions International | 1 |
| Royal & SunAlliance | 1 |
| Royston and Zamani | 1 |
| Scient | 1 |
| Seabury & Smith Co. | 1 |
| Sidley Austin Brown & Wood | 1 |
| Siemens | 1 |
| Signature Painting and Decorating | 1 |
| Singer Frumento LLP | 1 |
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 1 |
| Sodexho | 1 |
| Soundtone Floors Inc. | 1 |
| Sweeney and Heeking Carpentry | 1 |
| Syncorp | 1 |
| TCG Software | 1 |
| Telekurs USA | 1 |
| The Westfield Group | 1 |
| ThyssenKrupp | 1 |
| Top of the World Cafe | 1 |
| UBS Warburg | 1 |
| United Staffing | 1 |
| Vanderbilt Group Inc. | 1 |
| Thomson Financial | 1 |
| Vital Computer Services | 1 |
| WABC-TV | 1 |
| WCBS-TV | 1 |
| Wipro Technologies | 1 |
| WNBC-TV | 1 |
| WNET-TV | 1 |
| World Trade Center | 1 |
| World Trade Center Project Renewal | 1 |
| WPIX-TV | 1 |
373 foreign nationals (excluding the nineteen perpetrators), representing just over 12% of the total number of deaths, also perished in the attacks. The following is a list of their nationalities (not accounting for some cases of dual citizenship).
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Ultimately, 2,752 death certificates were filed relating to the 9/11 attacks,[64] as of February 2005. Of these, 1,588 (58%) were forensically identified from recovered physical remains.[65][66] The Associated Press reported that the medical examiner's office possesses "about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments that cannot be matched to the list of the dead."[67] Bone fragments were still being found in 2006 as workers prepared the damaged Deutsche Bank Building for demolition.
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