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S I N C E 1905

50¢TUESDAYSE P T E M B E R 11, 2001

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S P E C I A L E X TR A E D I T I O N

ATTACKAMERICAON

SUZANNE PLUNKETT / Associated Press

Above, in New York City, people run as smoke billows from the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers Tuesday morning. Both 110-floor towers collapsed after terrorists crashed hijacked airlinersinto the buildings. An aircraft also crashed into the Pentagon, raising fears that the seat of government itself was under attack. At top, an airplane crashes into the second tower of the World Trade Center.

NBC / Associated Press

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Terrorists strike U.S.Planes hit NYtwin towers,Pentagon;thousandslikely deadBY JERRY SCHWARTZAssociated Press

NEW YORK — In one of the mostaudacious attacks ever against theUnited States, terrorists crashed twoairliners into the World Trade Centerin a deadly series of blows Tuesdaythat brought down the twin 110-storytowers. A plane also slammed into thePentagon, bringing the seat of govern-ment itself under attack.

Thousands could be dead or in-jured, a high-ranking city police offi-cial said, speaking on condition of an-onymity.

Authorities had been trying to evac-uate those who work in the twin tow-ers when the glass-and-steel skyscrap-ers came down in a thunderous roarwithin about 90 minutes after thecrashes, which took place minutesapart around 8 a.m. CDT. But manypeople were thought to have beentrapped. About 50,000 people work atthe Trade Center and tens of thou-sands of others visit each day.

American Airlines initially said theTrade Center was hit by two of itsplanes, both hijacked, carrying a totalof 156 people. But the airline latersaid that was unconfirmed. Two Unit-ed airliners with a total of 110 aboardalso crashed — one outside Pitts-burgh, the other in a location not im-mediately identified.

“This is perhaps the most audaciousterrorist attack that’s ever taken placein the world,” said Chris Yates, an avi-ation expert at Jane’s Transport inLondon. “It takes a logistics operationfrom the terror group involved that issecond to none. Only a very smallhandful of terror groups is on thatlist. . . . I would name at the top ofthe list Osama bin Laden.”

President Bush ordered a full-scaleinvestigation to “hunt down the folkswho committed this act.”

Within the hour, the Pentagon tooka direct, devastating hit from an air-craft. The fiery crash collapsed oneside of the five-sided structure.

The White House, the Pentagonand the Capitol were evacuated alongwith other federal buildings in Wash-ington and New York.

Authorities in Washington immedi-ately called out troops, including aninfantry regiment. The Situation Roomat the White House was in full opera-tion.

Authorities went on alert from coastto coast, the U.S. and Canadian bor-ders were sealed, all air traffic acrossthe country was halted, and securitywas tightened at strategic installations.

“This is the second Pearl Harbor. Idon’t think that I overstate it,” saidSen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

In June, a U.S. judge had set thisWednesday as the sentencing date fora bin Laden associate for his role inthe bombing of a U.S. embassy inTanzania that killed 213 people. Thesentencing had been set for the feder-al courthouse near the World TradeCenter. No one from the U.S. attor-ney’s office could be reached Tuesdayto comment on whether the sentenc-ing was still on.

Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban rul-ers condemned the attacks and reject-ed suggestions that bin Laden was be-hind them, saying he does not havethe means to carry out such well-or-chestrated attacks. Bin Laden hasbeen given asylum in Afghanistan.

American Airlines initially identifiedthe planes that crashed into the TradeCenter as Flight 11, a Los Angeles-bound jet hijacked after takeoff fromBoston with 92 people aboard, andFlight 77, which was seized while car-rying 64 people from Washington toLos Angeles.

In Pennsylvania, United AirlinesFlight 93, a Boeing 757 en route fromNewark, N.J., to San Francisco,crashed about 80 miles southeast ofPittsburgh with 45 people aboard.United said another of its planes,Flight 175, a Boeing 767 bound fromBoston to Los Angeles with 65 peopleon board, also crashed, but it did notsay where. The fate of those aboardthe two planes was not immediatelyknown.

United’s pilots union said UnitedFlight 175 crashed into the TradeCenter. But the airline had no imme-diate comment.

Evacuations were ordered at theUnited Nations in New York and atthe Sears Tower in Chicago. Los An-geles mobilized its anti-terrorism divi-

sion, and security was intensifiedaround the naval installations inHampton Roads, Va. Walt DisneyWorld in Orlando, Fla., was evacuat-ed.

At the World Trade Center, “every-one was screaming, crying, running,cops, people, firefighters, everyone,”said Mike Smith, a fire marshal. “It’slike a war zone.”

“I just saw the building I work income down,” said businessman Gabri-el Ioan, shaking in shock outside CityHall, a cloud of smoke and ash fromThe planes blasted fiery, gaping holesin the upper floors of the twin towers.A witness said he saw bodies fallingand people jumping out.

About an hour later, the southerntower collapsed with a roar and ahuge cloud of smoke; the other towerfell about a half-hour after that, cover-ing lower Manhattan in heaps of grayrubble and broken glass. Firefighterstrapped in the rubble radioed forhelp.

“I have a sense it’s a horrendousnumber of lives lost,” Mayor RudolphGiuliani said. “Right now we have tofocus on saving as many lives as pos-sible.”

“Today we’ve had a national trage-dy,” Bush said in Sarasota, Fla. “Twoairplanes have crashed into the WorldTrade Center in an apparent terroristattack on our country.” He said hewould be returning immediately toWashington.

The crashes at the World TradeCenter happened minutes apart, be-ginning just before 8 a.m. CDT.

Heavy black smoke billowed intothe sky above one of New York City’smost famous landmarks, and debrisrained down on the street, one of thecity’s busiest work areas. When thesecond plane hit, a fireball of flameand smoke erupted, leaving a hugehole in the glass and steel tower. AP

Twin towers fallWithin an hour and a half of aterrorist attack, both towers of theWorld Trade Center in lowerManhattan collapsed.

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MOSHE BURSUKER / Associated Press

A jet crashes into the World Trade Center on Tuesday morning in New York.Terrorists crashed two planes into the 110-story twin towers, collapsing both ofthem.

DOUG MILLS / Associated Press

Andy Card, the White House chief of staff, whispers word to President Bush of the plane crashes Tuesday into the World Trade Center towers. Bush was at anelementary school in Sarasota, Fla.

2 Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

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‘I heard aboom. Peoplewere jumpingoff thebuildingeverywhere.They were justjumping.’

Serena Maysa construction worker onthe Williamsburg Bridge,which leads intoManhattan from Brooklyn.

KATHY WILLENS / Associated Press

A woman reacts to a third explosion, possibly the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, while observing from the Brooklyn Promenade, which provides a view of the Manhattan skyline in New York.

ABC / Associated Press

One of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York collapses in this image madefrom television Tuesday. Two airliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers.

© 2001 KRTSource: “New York Blue Guide,” “Directory of Manhattan Office Buildings,” “New York CityAccess,” “New York City: A World of Travel Publication,” “Comparisons,” World Trade Center

Space: Total office space of 9.5million square feet — one acre ofrentable space per floor in the towers

Workers: 50,000 Visitors: Up to 200,000 daily Parking: Space for 2,000 cars

Major tenants: Port Authorityof New York and New Jersey,Sumitomo Bank, U.S.Customs House, NewYork Mercantile Exchangeand more than 1,000 otherbusinesses and trade organizations

Height: 1,350 feet Elevators: 104 in

each of the two towers Windows: 21,800 in

each of the two towers

World Trade Center

SearsTower1,454 feetwithoutmast1,559 feetwith mast

EmpireStateBuilding1,250 feetwithoutmast1,472 feetwith mast

Height comparison World

TradeCenter1,350 ft.

Building facts Construction began: 1966 Completed: 1970 Dedicated: 1973 Architects: Minoru Yamasaki &

Associates and Emery Roth & Sons Owner: Port Authority of New

York and New Jersey Configuration: Complex of six

buildings, including two 110-storytowers, the 22-story VistaInternational Hotel and threelowrise buildings, on a 16-acre site,which includes a 5-acre plaza

3Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

Witnesses describe scenesof terror in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — It was the scene ofa nightmare: people on fire jumping in ter-ror from the Trade Towers just before thebuildings collapsed.

“Everyone was screaming, crying, run-ning — cops, people, firefighters, every-one,” said Mike Smith, a fire marshal fromQueens, as he sat by the fountain outsidea state courthouse shortly after the secondtower collapsed.

“A couple of marshals just picked me upand dragged me down the street.”

“It’s like a war zone.”Others compared it to Pearl Harbor as

hundreds of people poured off the bridgeon the Brooklyn side, covered in gray dustand debris. Many wore respiratory masks,given out by the police and fire depart-ments.

Shirley Bates, who worked on the 88thfloor of One World Trade Center, said shesaw a woman on her floor with burns onher arms and legs and singed hair.

As Bates and others were evacuated,they heard a second explosion.

“Everything came like a tornado,” shesaid. “People started running.”

Workers from Trade Center offices wan-dered lower Manhattan in a daze, manybarely able to believe they were alive.

Boris Ozersky, 47, computer networksanalyst, was on the 70th floor of one ofthe buildings when he felt something likean explosion rock it.

He raced down 70 flights of stairs andoutside into a mob gathered in front of anearby hotel. He was trying to calm a pan-icked woman when the building suddenlycollapsed.

“I just got blown somewhere, and thenit was total darkness. We tried to getaway, but I was blown to the ground. AndI was trying to help this woman, but Icouldn’t find her in the darkness,” Ozerskysaid.

After the dust cleared, he found the hys-terical woman and took her to a restaurantbeing used by rescue workers as a triagecenter.

Clyde Ebanks, vice president of an in-surance company, was at a meeting on the103rd floor of the 110-story South Towerof the World Trade Center when his bosssaid, “Look at that.”

He turned and through a window saw aplane go by and hit the other building.

He and his co-workers raced down thestairs. When they reached the 70th floor,they felt the building shake as the secondplane hit. Later, in tears, his hair coveredwith gray ash, he added: “I worry aboutsome of my co-workers.”

Jennifer Brickhouse, 34, from Union,N.J., was on the escalator heading for her76th-floor office in the World Trade Centerwhen she “heard this big boom.

“Everyone was going crazy. We all gotout. The minute I got out of the buildingthe second building blew up. All this stuffstarted falling, and all this smoke wascoming through.

“People were screaming, falling andjumping out of the windows,” Brickhousesaid.

“I just saw the building I work in comedown,” said businessman Gabriel Ioan,shaking in shock outside City Hall, acloud of smoke and ash from the World

Trade Center behind him. “I just saw thetop of Trade Two come down.”

Nearby a crowd mobbed a man on apay phone, screaming at him to get off thephone so that they could call relatives.Dust and dirt flew everywhere. Ash was 2to 3 inches deep in places.

“People were jumping out of windows,”said an unidentified crying woman. “Iguess people were trying to save them-selves. Oh my God!”

“I was in the World Financial Centerlooking out the window,” said one woman.“I saw the first plane and then, 15 minuteslater, saw the other plane just slam intothe World Trade Center.”

Another eyewitness, AP newsman Dun-stan Prial, described a strange suckingsound from the Trade Center buildings af-ter the first building collapsed.

“Windows shattered. People werescreaming and diving for cover. People

walked around like ghosts, covered in dirt,weeping and wandering, dazed.”

“It sounded like a jet or rocket,” saidEddie Gonzalez, a postal worker at a postoffice on West Broadway. “I looked up andsaw a huge explosion. I didn’t see the im-pact. I just saw the explosion.”

Morning commuters heading into Man-hattan were stranded as the Lincoln Tun-nel was shut down to incoming traffic.Many left their cars and stood on theramp leading to the tunnel, staring in dis-belief at the thick cloud of smoke pouringfrom the top of the two buildings.

On the streets of Manhattan, peoplestood in groups talking quietly or watchingon television at ground-level network stu-dios.

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WILL MORRIS / Associated Press

Flames and smoke pour from the Pentagon on Tuesday after a direct, devastating hit from an aircraft.

DOUG MILLS / Associated Press

President Bush addresses the nationfrom Barksdale Air Force Base, La.,regarding Tuesday’s terrorist attacks.

Constitution Ave.

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The MallWashingtonMonument

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Gannett News Service

United Airlines says two planeswent down, one in PennsylvaniaBY TODD SPANGLERAssociated Press

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — Two UnitedAirlines jetliners crashed Tuesdaymorning, one in western Pennsylvaniaand the second at a location the air-line did not immediately disclose. Atotal of 110 people were aboard thetwo planes, the airline said.

One plane, United Flight 93,crashed north of the Somerset Countyairport, a small airport about 80 milessoutheast of Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania crash followedthe crash of two planes into theWorld Trade Center in New YorkCity. American Airlines initially saidits planes crashed into the twin tow-ers but later said that was uncon-firmed.

“It shook the whole station,” saidBruce Grine, owner of Grine’s ServiceCenter in Shanksville, about 2 milesfrom the crash. “Everybody ran out-side, and by that time the fire whistlewas blowing.”

United said that flight, a Boeing757, left Newark, N.J., at 8:01 a.m.,

headed for San Francisco with 38 pas-sengers, two pilots and five flight at-tendants.

A second plane, United Flight 175,a Boeing 767, also crashed, the airlinesaid, but it did not give a location.That plane left Boston at 7:58 a.m.,bound for Los Angeles with 56 pas-sengers, two pilots and seven flightattendants, the airline said.

United’s pilots union said Flight 175crashed into the Trade Center. Butthe airline had no immediate com-ment.

Because of the attacks in NewYork, the Federal Aviation Administra-tion had ordered all departing flightscanceled nationwide, and any planesalready in the air were to land at thenearest airport. The Pennsylvaniacrash came after the order was is-sued.

According to Somerset County dis-patchers, Flight 93 crashed about 10a.m. about 8 miles east of Jenner-stown, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh report-ed.

Michael R. Merringer was out on amountain bike ride with his wife,

Amy, about two miles away from thecrash site.

“I heard the engine gun two differ-ent times and then I heard a loudbang and the windows of the housesall around rattled,” Merringer said. “Ilooked up and I saw the smoke com-ing up.”

The couple rushed home and drovenear the scene.

“Everything was on fire and therewas trees knocked down and therewas a big hole in the ground,” hesaid.

Earlier Tuesday, terrorists crashedtwo planes into the World Trade Cen-ter and the twin 110-story towers col-lapsed. A plane also hit the Pentagonin Washington.

In Chicago, United CEO JamesGoodwin said the airline is workingwith authorities including the FBI.United said it was sending a team toPennsylvania to assist in the investiga-tion and to provide assistance to fami-ly members.

“Today’s events are a tragedy andour prayers are with everyone at thistime,” Goodwin said.

Plane crashes into the PentagonFatalities unknown; buildings evacuated; troops deployedBY RON FOURNIERAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — The Pentagontook a direct, devastating hit from anaircraft and the enduring symbols ofAmerican power were evacuated Tues-day as an apparent terrorist attackquickly spread fear and chaos in thenation’s capital.

President Bush, in Florida at thetime of the attack, canceled plans toreturn to Washington and was flownaboard Air Force One to the safety ofa military installation at Barksdale AirForce Base in Louisiana.

The nerve center of the nation’smilitary burst into flames and a por-tion of one side of the five-sidedstructure collapsed when the planestruck in midmorning. Secondary ex-plosions were reported in the after-math of the attack and great billowsof smoke drifted skyward toward thePotomac River and the city beyond.

Glenn Flood, a Pentagon spokes-man, said there were “extensive casu-alties and an unknown number of fa-talities. “We don’t know the extent ofthe injuries,” he said.

“Terrorism against our nation willnot stand,” Bush vowed on a morningwhen not only Washington wasstruck, but the twin towers of theWorld Trade Center in New Yorkwere hit by planes and later collapsed.

Bush was in Florida when thestrike occurred. Vice President DickCheney was in Washington and heand first lady Laura Bush were takento an undisclosed secure location, offi-cials said. Congressional leaders werehustled away from the Capitol to safe-ty.

“The leadership of the Defense De-partment is OK. The secretary (Don-ald H. Rumsfeld) is OK,” Flood toldreporters.

Authorities immediately began de-ploying troops, including a regimentof light infantry.

The departments of Justice, State,Treasury and Defense and the CentralIntelligence Agency were evacuated— an estimated 20,000 at the Penta-gon alone. Agents with automaticweapons patrolled the White Housegrounds.

And the FAA ordered the entire na-tionwide air traffic system shut down

for the first time in history.There was no attempt to minimize

the impact.“This is the second Pearl Harbor. I

don’t think that I overstate it,” saidSen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., referringto the attack 60 years ago that sur-prised the nation’s intelligence appara-tus and propelled the country intoWorld War II.

With Bush away from the capital,his advisers were preparing a list ofoptions, including closing the nation’sborders, according to a senior U.S. of-ficial.

The source, who spoke on conditionof anonymity, said it was premature todiscuss military options because inves-tigators were still trying to determinewho was responsible for the attacks.

Away from the Pentagon, unex-plained explosions were reported inthe vicinity of the State Departmentand the Capitol.

A torrent of people rushed fromtheir office buildings throughout thenation’s capital, eager to leave a cityunder siege. The cell phone networkswere overloaded, clusters of peoplesprayed on the sidewalks and at least

one suburban school district an-nounced plans to close early.

The Pentagon was hit a short whileafter the World Trade Center wasstruck. a plane, described by witness-es as a jetliner, made impact in theportion of the building on the side op-posite from where Rumsfeld’s officesare located.

Paul Begala, a Democratic consul-tant, said he witnessed an explosionnear the Pentagon, saying it sent ahuge, orange fireball skyward.

AP reporter Dave Winslow also sawthe crash. He said, “I saw the tail of alarge airliner. ... It plowed right intothe Pentagon.”

Gen. Richard Myers, vice chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said thatprior to the crash into the Pentagon,military officials had been notified thatanother hijacked plane had beenheading from the New York area toWashington. He said he assumed thathijacked plane was the one that hitthe Pentagon, though he couldn’t besure.

One of two planes that crashed intothe World Trade Center was hijackedafter takeoff from Boston and headed

to Los Angeles with 92 aboard, Ameri-can Airlines disclosed.

The second plane may have flownout of Newark, N.J., the official said,speaking on condition of anonymity.

Asked if there was any possibilitythe crashes were anything other thandeliberate, a government official saidit appeared not to be an accident.

Nation’s ‘freedom will bedefended,’ president vows

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE,La. (AP) — As chaos unhinged NewYork and Washington, President Bushcommanded the full force of the Unit-ed States government to “hunt downand to find” the terrorists responsible.

“Terrorism against our nation willnot stand,” he declared Tuesday.

In Florida for a pair of educationspeeches, the president scrapped hisschedule and said, at the first reportsof attacks on New York’s WorldTrade Center, that he was hasteningback to Washington.

But, with the White House evacuat-ed under threat of attack and his wifehunkered down in an unidentified se-cure location, the president and AirForce One were rerouted — underescort by military fighter jets — tothis Louisiana air base.

In a conference room dotted byportraits of decorated Air Force offi-cers, the commander in chief an-nounced that the U.S. military was on“high-alert status.”

“Freedom itself was attacked thismorning, and I assure you, freedomwill be defended. Make no mistake.The United States will hunt down and

pursue those responsible for thesecowardly actions,” Bush said.

First lady Laura Bush spoke withher husband by a secure militaryphone line before he took off fromSarasota, Fla.

Laura Bush and aides were whiskedfrom Capitol Hill, where she was tohave testified to a Senate committeeon education, to a hide-out.

4 Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

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Associated Press

A Palestinian woman receives free sweets from a vendor as groups of locals in east Jerusalem’s Old City celebrate afterhearing news of a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers Tuesday in New York.

ADEL HANA / Associated Press

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafatkisses a Palestinian child in Gaza Cityon Tuesday. As thousands ofPalestinians celebrated in the streets,Arafat said he was horrified by theattacks. “We are completely shocked.It’s unbelievable,” he said.

Palestinians horrified, joyous

As Arafat expresseshorror at attacks,some Palestinianscelebrate withdancing, chantingBY MOHAMMED DARAGHMEHAssociated Press

NABLUS, West Bank — Thousandsof Palestinians celebrated Tuesday’sterror attacks in the United States,chanting “God is Great” and distribut-ing candy to passers-by, even as theirleader, Yasser Arafat, said he was hor-rified.

The U.S. government has becomeincreasingly unpopular in the WestBank and Gaza Strip in the past yearof Israeli-Palestinian fighting, withmany Palestinians accusing Washing-ton of siding with Israel.

In the West Bank town of Nablus,about 3,000 people poured into thestreets shortly after the attacks on theWorld Trade Center in New York andgovernment targets in Washington.

Demonstrators distributed candy ina traditional gesture of celebration.Several Palestinian gunmen shot intothe air, while other marchers carriedPalestinian flags. Nawal Abdel Fatah,48, wearing a long, black dress, threwsweets in the air, saying she was hap-py because “America is the head ofthe snake, America always stands byIsrael in its war against us.”

Her daughter Maysoon, 22, said shehoped the next attack would belaunched against Tel Aviv.

In traditionally Arab east Jerusalem,there was a smaller gathering ofabout two dozen people, many ofthem young children led in chants byadults. Some drivers passing thescene honked their horns and flashedvictory signs from their windows.

Arafat and his top advisers huddledat his seaside office in Gaza City,watching the events unfold on televi-sion. Arafat later emerged to speak to

reporters.“We are completely shocked. It’s

unbelievable,” he said. “We complete-ly condemn this very dangerous at-tack, and I convey my condolences tothe American people, to the Americanpresident and to the American admin-istration, not only in my name but onbehalf of the Palestinian people.”

In the West Bank, meanwhile, the

leader of the Democratic Front forthe Liberation of Palestine denied hisgroup was involved in the attacks.

Qais Abdel Rahim was reacting toreports that two Arab satellite stationsin the Gulf had received anonymousclaims of responsibility on behalf ofthe DFLP, a radical PLO faction. Ab-del Rahim said his group condemnedthe attacks.

World aghast at attacksWORLD REACTIONE Leaders are sending

condolences and pledgesolidarity with the U.S.

BY BETH GARDINERAssociated Press

LONDON — Astonishing terroriststrikes in the United States quicklyreached a global audience Tuesday,with many around the world watchinglive coverage as both World TradeCenter towers collapsed.

Audiences were transfixed by theawful images from New York andWashington.

Key indexes sank on world stockmarkets and some European airlinescanceled flights to the United Statesand recalled planes already in the air.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

expressed his condolences to theAmerican people over the terrorist at-tacks, calling them “terrible trage-dies,” the Kremlin press service said.

“This mass terrorism is the newevil in our world today,” said PrimeMinister Tony Blair, who canceled aspeech at a trade union conference.“It is perpetrated by fanatics who areutterly indifferent to the sanctity ofhuman life, and we the democraciesof this world are going to have tocome together and fight it together.”

President Jacques Chirac of France,in a nationally televised statement,called the attacks in the United States“monstrous” and expressed his soli-darity with the American people.

“France has just learned of these

monstrous attacks — there is no oth-er word for it — that have hit Ameri-ca,” Chirac said from Rennes, in thewestern region of Brittany.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat andhis top aides followed the events athis seaside office in Gaza City, gath-ered around a TV set.

“I send my condolences to the pres-ident, the government and the peoplefor this terrible incident,” Arafat said.“We are completely shocked. It’s un-believable.”

In Berlin, Foreign Ministry officialshuddled in a crisis meeting. Virtuallyall German TV channels switched tolive coverage. “This is pure mass mur-der,” one commentator said.

“My government condemns theseterrorist attacks to the utmost,” saidGerman Chancellor Gerhard Schroe-der.

“Italy is at the side of the UnitedStates,” Italian President Carlo AzeglioCiampi told Bush in a telegram. “Theinternational community must respondtogether to this abhorrent act.”

Czech President Vaclav Havel saidin a statement that he was shockedby the attacks and was closely watch-ing news from the United States.

In Puerto Rico, people scrambledfor news of relatives and friends inNew York, where an estimated 2 mil-lion Puerto Ricans live.

Groups gathered on the corners ofcobble-stoned streets in the colonialcity of San Juan, clinging to strangersin search of more details.

“Dios mio, have mercy!” exclaimeda white-haired man, making the signof the cross as he watched the sec-ond tower explode on TV.

In Thailand, Suranand Vejjajiva, a

spokesman for the office of PrimeMinister Thaksin Shinawatra said theywere watching the news in disbelief.

A spokesman for Philippine Presi-dent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said:“The president has been monitoringthe events since an hour ago, and shecondemns what is obviously the worstterrorist attack on a leader of civilizedsociety.”

Broadcasters around the worldbroke into programming to show im-ages of the disaster.

“It’s incredible. I thought I waswatching a Hollywood movie,” saidHong Kong school teacher DorisTang.

London’s Evening Standard, alreadyout of date when it hit the streets,carried a front-page photo of the burn-ing World Trade Center and the head-line “Planes Hit Skyscraper.”

Threatsmay stuntcity prayergatheringsE Tulsa MetropolitanMinistry leaders areconsidering whether largelocal events will be safe.

BY LAURIE WINSLOWWorld Staff Writer

Security concerns may postpone anyimmediate chance of a citywide prayergathering following Tuesday morn-ing’s terrorist attacks on the WorldTrade Center towers in New YorkCity and the Pentagon in Washington.

“I talked to the Mayor’s Office. Weare concerned about getting a crowdtogether,” said Stephen Cranford, theexecutive director of Tulsa Metropoli-tan Ministry, which represents the Is-lamic, Jewish and Christian faiths.

He noted that some threats alreadyhad been made toward some of thecity’s congregations, but he declinedto specify which ones.

“What we are hoping is that the Is-lamic, Jewish and Christian communi-

ty share togetherin prayer . . .whether we dothat in one largecitywide gatheringor simply do thatin homes and con-gregations.”

He said the or-ganization wouldbe meeting latertoday to talkabout citywideprayer but thatthere was nothingto announce yet.

“For securityreasons, we’re notsure that this isthe right time toget a crowd to-gether,” Cranfordsaid.

Unconfirmed re-ports noted thatSaudi dissident

Osama bin Laden might be responsi-ble for the East Coast attacks.

Bin Laden, who is accused by theUnited States of bomb attacks thatkilled 224 people at two American em-bassies in East Africa in 1998, haslived in Afghanistan since 1996.

In the past, Afghanistan’s Talibanrulers have rejected U.S. concernsabout the possibility of a terroriststrike by the followers of bin Laden.Taliban rulers have said bin Laden’sactivities are under their strict controland that he cannot use Afghan territo-ry as a base for attacks.

“The Muslim people are very muchpart of our community and have beenfor a long time and are as distressedat the news as we all are and shouldnever be singled out for any sort ofrecrimination,” Cranford said.

Sheryl Siddiqui, a member of theboard of trustees of the Islamic Soci-ety of Tulsa, said: “We have no moreto do with Osama bin Laden than youdo. He certainly doesn’t represent Is-lam, and we’re just devastated.”

She said the Islamic community’sprayers go out to everyone affectedby the attack.

“We’re Americans,” Siddiqui said.“We’re victims like the rest of Ameri-ca. We don’t want to be the target, ei-ther.”

Laurie Winslow, World staff writer, can bereached at 581-8466 or via e-mail atlaurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com.

International air traffic diverted from U.S., Israeli skiesLONDON (AP) — International air-

lines scrambled to divert or cancelflights to the United States on Tues-day after a wave of airborne terror at-tacks on New York and Washington.Israel closed its airspace to foreigncarriers.

The cancellations and diversionscaused confusion and congestion atmany European airports, where air-lines ordered flights bound for theUnited States to do U-turns or findlanding points outside America.

Some airlines reversed course onlyafter being denied permission to landby the Federal Aviation Administra-tion, which ordered U.S. airspace shutdown in response to the apparent hi-jacking of U.S. passenger jets by sui-

cide bombers.Israel closed its airspace to foreign

airlines. Israeli carriers — which car-ry out stringent security checks —will still be able to land at Israel’sfour airports, said Yerach Tal, an ad-viser to the Israeli transport minister.The ban will be in effect for 24 hoursand will then be reviewed, Tal said.

The German Flight Security Agencyin Frankfurt ordered all U.S.-boundflights by Lufthansa canceled. A Finn-air flight out of Helsinki turnedaround and returned to Finland. AirFrance Group ordered its Americanflights closed or rerouted.

In Belgium, Sabena Air spokesmanWilfried Remans said two flights enroute to the United States were “turn-

ing around in mid-flight and returningto Brussels.”

In Spain, national carrier Iberia saidfour scheduled flights from Madrid tothe United States were in the air andthree of them — destined to NewYork, Chicago and Miami — were or-dered to return to Spain. The fourth,flying from Barcelona to New York,was awaiting clearance into a Canadi-an airport, an Iberia official said.

Scandinavian Airlines System or-dered three flights bound for NewYork, and another flight bound forWashington, to divert while over theAtlantic. They were expected to landinstead in Iceland. SAS spokesmanThomas Brinch in Copenhagen saidhe wasn’t sure when flights to the

United States would resume.At Heathrow Airport outside Lon-

don, several flights already bound forthe United States were expected to di-vert to Canadian airports. Those thathadn’t taken off were delayed indefi-nitely.

British Airways, which flies to 21destinations in the United States, saidall services were being canceled, di-verting to the nearest airport outsidethe United States or returning to Lon-don.

Virgin Atlantic also canceled its dai-ly services to New York and otherU.S. cities but said its services fromLondon to the Caribbean would beuninterrupted.

‘What weare hopingis that theIslamic,Jewish andChristiancommunitysharetogether inprayer.’

StephenCranfordexecutive director ofTulsa MetropolitanMinistry

5Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

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Oklahomans fearedjust such an attackE Officials in the statewith expertise in securitymatters say it was an issueof when, not if.

BY SHAUN SCHAFERWorld Staff Writer

The crashes of two airplanes intothe World Trade Center towers inNew York City and explosions inWashington, D.C., on Tuesday morn-ing signaled a bloody new chapter ofglobal terrorism.

“This is in a literal sense a cam-paign of terrorism against the UnitedStates,” said Steve Sloan, a U.S. secu-rity expert at the University of Okla-homa. “We don’t know if this is oneset of acts or if this is just the pre-lude.”

Even as smoke continued to billowfrom the collapse of the twin 110-story trade center towers, Oklahoma-based experts on U.S. security de-scribed the attacks as inevitable.

“In a sense, it is shocking but pre-dictable,” said Robert Donaldson, aprofessor of political science at theUniversity of Tulsa. “It’s not some-thing where we could have said ex-actly where or when that this sort ofthing would occur, but there was ahigh probability of this happening.”

University of Oklahoma PresidentDavid Boren, a former chairman ofthe Senate Intelligence Committee,was in Washington having breakfastwith CIA Director George Tenetwhen the first attack occurred.

“This is a realization of the worstfears that we have had for the last 10years,’’ Boren said. ‘‘It is exactly thekind of thing we worried about dur-ing the time I chaired the Senate In-telligence Committee.

‘‘I hope that these attacks willcause the leading nations of theworld to realize that we must allwork even more closely together todevelop new intelligence-sharing pro-grams and inspection programs

aimed at worldwide terrorism.’’Officials around the Sooner State

acted quickly and didn’t wait to seewhat could come next. Some federaloffices, including the Internal Reve-nue Service and Army Corps of Engi-neers buildings in Oklahoma City andTulsa, were evacuated. Some stateand county courthouses also closed.

“It is awful,’’ IRS spokesman DavidStell said from Oklahoma City. ‘‘Themood here is disbelief, somber andscared. It brings to mind memoriesof the Oklahoma City bombing.’’

In Tulsa, office buildings startedclosing at mid-morning. Workers inthe Bank of Oklahoma Tower — at52 stories the tallest downtown build-ing — were told that they could gohome at 10 a.m.

Experts like Sloan and Donaldsontried to determine who could havemasterminded such a series of at-tacks.

“It sounds like what we have wit-nessed is a coordinated campaign di-rected at significant objects of U.S.power,” Sloan said. “It may all be re-lated to what is going on in the Mid-dle East. Unfortunately, a number oforganizations are now capable of thislevel of coordination. We can’t jumpto any conclusions.”

Through the Internet, personalcomputers and working in small cells,a number of groups could have pull-ed together the organizational mightto launch simultaneous attacks, hesaid.

Coordinating a multipronged attackis easier in an open society like theUnited States, Donaldson said.

“And there are a number of terror-ist organizations and state-sponsoredterrorists who have real or perceivedgrievances with the United States,”he added.

Multiple attacks on the centers ofcommerce and military power demon-strated vulnerability, Donaldson said.Attacks expose Americans to thefacts that their government could nei-ther constantly protect them norguarantee that this wouldn’t happenagain, he said.

“Obviously, what they have done ispick the most obvious symbols ofAmerican economic and militarystrength,” Donaldson said. “This willscar the American psyche for quite along time.”

Early speculation centered on linksto the Israeli-Palestinian clash andSaudi dissident Osama bin Laden,who has taken credit for bombingU.S. embassies in Tanzania and Ke-nya in 1998 and is believed to belinked to the 2000 bombing of theUSS Cole in Yemen.

“I know the temptation is to blamebin Laden,” Sloan said. “I’m not goingto jump there right now.”

About the only defense after a ter-rorist attack is to take confidence inthe strength and courage of Ameri-cans and their leaders, Donaldsonsaid, citing how Americans rallied inthe wake of the Oklahoma Citybombing.

There was added caution in Tulsaabout jumping to conclusions as towhat group of people may have car-ried out the attacks.

‘‘I want to urge anyone with any in-formation to go to the police to helpthem out,’’ said Frank Alchami, a Syr-ian-born citizen and the owner ofFrank’s Cafe at 5451 S. Mingo Road.‘‘I ask the people of Tulsa to remaincalm and not jump to conclusions.Remember the Oklahoma City bomb-ing,’’ he said.

‘‘But whoever did this is my enemybefore anyone else.’’

Alchami, who has lived in the Unit-ed States for 22 years, owns a cafethat is popular in the Islamic commu-nity on Tulsa’s east side.

Elana Newman, a psychologist atthe University of Tulsa, said one ofher first concerns was how to de-scribe the events to children.

“Tell our children what we know asclearly as we can,” she said. “Tellthem that this is quite serious andthat we don’t know everything yet.”

World staff writer Omer Gillham contributedto this story. Shaun Schafer, World staff writer,can be reached at 581-8320 or via e-mail atshaun.schafer@tulsaworld.com.

Flight ban hampersblood agencies’ aidBY NELLIE KELLYWorld Staff Writer

Already tight blood supplies in NewYork will need even more infusionsfrom across the country.

About 25 percent of the city’s bloodsupply is imported from Europe, saidJean Letcher of the Oklahoma BloodInstitute. But airports are shut down,making shipments impossible.

The Washington area’s supplyshould be in better shape, said Mag-gie Jewell, a spokeswoman for theAmerican Red Cross in Tulsa.

Locally, the Red Cross and Oklaho-ma Blood Institute have extendedhours so Tulsans can give blood,which will be sent to disaster areas.

Still, with airports closed, groundtransportation will be the only meansto deliver it.

Locally, there is less than a day’ssupply of O-positive, a good supply ofA-positive and less than a half-day’ssupply of all types of Rh-negativeblood, Jewell said.

Both agencies expect lines of do-nors in the coming days.

“I think that’s a natural response tothis kind of tragedy,” Letcher said.

Hospitals are on a higher alert be-cause of the terrorist attacks, with

teams in place to handle a potentialemergency here.

Tulsa Regional Medical Center andHillcrest Medical Center are “standingready,” Hillcrest spokeswoman TyraPalmer said. That means that surgeryand trauma backups are in place.

St. John Medical Center’s emergen-cy room is on alert, and additionalmedical staff members are ready tocome to the hospital if needed, St.John spokeswoman Tina Wells said.

St. John and St. Francis Hospitalare designated as trauma facilities, butduring a disaster, all facilities help inhandling the injured, Wells said.

Red Cross offices will be open from8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday. Do-nation sites in Tulsa are at 10151 E.11th St. and 7717 S. Memorial Drive.Other sites statewide are in Stillwater,Ponca City and Norman.

The Oklahoma Blood Institute willbe open from 9 a.m. until the last do-nor leaves, with no specific closingtime. The Tulsa donation center is at3316 E. 21st St. Other donation cen-ters are located in Oklahoma City, Ed-mond, Midwest City, Lawton, PoncaCity, Enid, Ardmore and Ada.

Nellie Kelly, World staff writer, can bereached at 581-8475 or via e-mail atnellie.kelly@tulsaworld.com.

Attack shuts down stateSchools, mostgovernmentoffices closedFROM STAFF REPORTS

Government, businesses, schoolsand many other functions across thestate shut down Tuesday followingterrorist attacks on New York City,the nation’s Capitol and other sites.

Departures from the Tulsa Interna-tional Airport were stopped in accor-dance with the Federal Aviation Au-thority’s nationwide grounding of allflights, said Carl Pritchett, deputy di-rector of airport operations.

Security at the Tulsa airport was in-creased.

Flights at Riverside and HarveyYoung airports are also grounded.

Gov. Frank Keating ordered allstate office buildings to be closed at10 a.m. in the wake of the attacks.

“All non-essential state employeesare allowed to go home,” Keatingsaid. “Essential employees will remainon the job, meaning all essential ele-ments of state government will remainopen. I ask for all Oklahomans topray for our nation.”

City and county offices, includingthe county courthouse, however, re-mained open.

Although there was no evacuationof City Hall, city employees through-out Tulsa were allowed to leave workif cleared by supervisors.

Tulsa Police Chief Ron Palmer saidhe has been in contact with the FBIin Tulsa and in Oklahoma City tryingto determine if there was any threatto the Tulsa area.

No threats have been reported atthis time, Palmer said.

The officers from Tulsa Police De-partment’s bomb squad and bombsniffing dogs are stationed at the air-port, he said.

The bomb squad van was relocatedfrom a police facility in north Tulsa toa position closer to the downtown areso it would be ready to respond ifnecessary.

Extra officers had not been calledin for duty.

The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Officecalled in reserve officers to help pa-trol the courthouse complex, saidChief Deputy Brian Edwards.

Palmer said the city’s EmergencyOperations Center is not in operation.

“It would take an incident or goodintelligence of a threat to activate it,”he said.

Federal offices, including the Inter-nal Revenue Service and Army Corpsof Engineers buildings in OklahomaCity and Tulsa, closed and were evac-uated.

Corps officials also posted guards at

area dams.Federal courts in Tulsa remained

open, though security was increased.Locally, the Red Cross and Oklaho-

ma Blood Institute have extendedhours so people can give blood, whichwill be sent to disaster areas.

Businesses were also impacted bythe attacks. The NORDAM Group Inc.evacuated hundreds of employeesfrom its repair division at U.S. 169and Pine Street following a threat,said Donna Ham, a company spokes-man.

At the Williams Companies down-

town, workers were told if they wereconcerned about their safety, theycould go home, said Jim Gipson, aspokesman for the company. Beforenoon, most of the workers had leftthe BOk Tower where the company’soffices are located.

The company sent an email to em-ployees saying it would donate $1 mil-lion to United Way to aid in the re-covery effort.

The Tulsa World also issued a spe-cial edition, the first since World WarII for the paper.

At some gas stations, motorists

lined up for gas following a rumorthat the attacks had caused a gasolineshortage. Motorists were lined upthree or four deep at QuikTrip at 15thStreet and Denver Avenue.

Police said there was no gas short-age and asked citizens not to rush tostations to fill up their cars.

Many schools across the state werelocking their buildings but allowingparents to come pick up children.Some schools were letting studentswatch the events unfold on television.

DAVID CRENSHAW / Tulsa World

Mille Gorman of Tulsa was one of an overwhelming number of blood donorsexpected to descend upon donor centers around the country.

A. CUERVO / Tulsa World

Tulsa Police Officer P.S. Eagan and his bomb-sniffing dog Romeo search for explosives around the Page Belcher Federal Building in downtown Tulsa. Other bombsquad officers and dogs were deployed at the Tulsa International Airport.

6 Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

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Stranded travelers fillairport but stay quietBY LEIGH WOOSLEYWorld Staff Writer

Boston Terrence stared blanklyfrom his shoeshine stand down theemptying hallways of Tulsa Interna-tional Airport. His head stayed still,positioned just feet from the radiospeaker broadcasting the latest newsfrom terrorist attacks in New YorkCity and Washington, D.C.

Holding a cup of coffee, Terrencewatched passengers wander and won-der after their flights — and allflights nationwide — were canceledand the airport was put on alert.

Over his head hung the sign: “ShoeSmiles $5.00. Let us put a smile onyour shoes.”

But Terrence could not even fake asmile in the moments following whathas been the worst terrorist attackagainst the United States.

“It’s kind of hard to say what it’sbeen like here (at the airport). Every-body has been quiet,” he said. “I’vegot a nephew in New York City whoworks downtown. It’s just . . . it’s just. . . I don’t know . . . you can’t de-scribe it.”

The airport’s alert is the same asthe one issued during Operation Des-ert Storm, said Carl Pritchett, the air-port’s deputy director of operations.

“Disappointed — certainly. Sur-prised. I’m still just in shock,” he saidwhen asked how the increased securi-ty at airports nationwide failed.

Mayor Susan Savage said: “We’redealing with tragedies that are un-precedented in this country. If Tulsais a target, we will be ready for that.

‘‘But our focus is the people com-ing into this community off of divert-ed flights. Accommodations are beingmade for them as we speak.”

Pritchett said 11 unscheduledflights involving hundreds of peoplelanded at Tulsa’s airport by 10:30 a.m.

Would-be air travelers plasteredtheir ears to cell phones and queuedup at pay telephones. Some called lo-cal family members to say they wereOK, and others raced to book hotelrooms for the night.

Anthony Gile of Tulsa was bookedon a 9 a.m. American Airlines flight

to Boston, but he was on his wayhome an hour after the plane was totake off.

Gile was just happy to be safe. AnAmerican Airlines plane headed toLos Angeles from Boston was one ofthose hijacked and flown into theWorld Trade Center. His wife an-swered phone calls all morning fromworried loved ones, Gile said.

“It’s shocking. It’s terrible,” he said.An American Airlines ticket agent

fielded concern from grounded pas-sengers lined before her. Behind her,four television screens that normallypost departures said “CANCELED.”

A Delta Airlines ticket agent saidemployees didn’t really know anythingexcept that all flights are canceled.

“It’s still too early,” said the agent,who would not give his name. “I’msure everyone is still formulating aplan.”

Dozens of people gathered beneathtelevision screens in the airport’s res-taurants, gift shops and bars. Theysaid hardly a word. Everyone wantedto hear the latest news.

The Tulsa Police/Fire Chaplaincy

Corps was on hand in case anyoneneeded to talk, executive directorDanny Lynchard said.

The New York scenes on televisionsent haunting memories of the Okla-homa City bombing through Lyn-chard’s mind.

“The scenes look so familiar. All ofthe explosives, the ambulances in thestreet, the people running,” he said,pointing to the television. “There’s nowords to say right now. We’re justgoing to be here. We want to remindpeople that the American faith is stillstrong, and that this is an act of man,not God.”

Airport employees carried out extrachairs for the delayed travelers. Carrental agencies were already at abare-bones supply by 10:30 a.m.

“The cars are going quick,” saidTina England of Thrifty Car Rental.“It’s down to the nitty-gritty — mini-vans and 15-passenger vans. This is anuthouse.”

World staff writer Jason Collington contribut-ed to this story. Leigh Woosley, World staffwriter, can be reached at 581-8465 or via e-mail at leigh.woosley@tulsaworld.com.

Churches preparefor prayer sessionsBY BILL SHERMANWorld Religion Writer

Numerous Tulsa churches openedtheir doors for prayer in the wake ofthe worst terrorist attack in the na-tion’s history.

Most churches called this morningsaid they were open for prayer, andseveral were having staff meetings torespond to the crisis.

One report said that people strand-ed at Tulsa International Airport be-cause of canceled flights were beingtaken to local churches.

The Rev. Jim Miller, pastor of FirstPresbyterian Church downtown, saidTulsa pastors were communicatingabout a joint response to the attack.

“This is a national tragedy of thefirst order,” he said.

“The escalating cycles of violencethat come from something like thisare beyond the threshold to imag-ine.”

Glenn Evans, a minister at FirstChristian Church (Disciples ofChrist) downtown, said his deaconsplanned to meet tonight to pray forthe country, the injured, and thosewho lost loved ones.

Classes were canceled at Oral Rob-erts University, where students gath-ered at 11 a.m. for a special chapelservice.

“I’m calling our entire campus toprayer,” ORU President Richard Rob-erts said. “There’s been an attack onour nation, and I believe it’s satanic.This country has got to be bathed inprayer.”

Roberts said telephone lines to the24-hour Abundant Life prayer groupwere jammed.

The Rev. Cathy Holcomb, the re-gional director for the Tulsa regionof the Oklahoma Concert of prayer,said prayer sites were being set upacross the city where people cancome together and pray corporatelyfor the nation. Christian radio sta-tions were getting out the word onthe mobilization.

Most of the prayer meetings arescheduled for this evening, she said.

Joe Conner, a book broker who isinvolved in the nondenominationalResurrection Prayer Group, said peo-ple he had talked to were “so numbthey didn’t even know how to pray.”

“They’re all praying in the spirit,”he said.

Sooners’ gaze fixed on TVOklahomansjoin nationof viewersBY MICHAEL OVERALLAND ASHLEY PARISHWorld Staff Writers

The images were horrific enough al-ready. The rising smoke. The fallingdebris. The limping victims.

Then, right before their eyes, it gotunimaginably worse.

“Oh, God!” one man cried out.“What’s that?”

It was the second World TradeCenter tower collapsing into a heap ofdebris, live on CNN. And all acrossTulsa — indeed, the nation — peoplewatched helplessly.

“It’s just gone,” said Megan Shrout,her lips quivering as she watchedwith a group of people at OklahomaState University-Tulsa. “You think thisis the worst thing that can happen.Then something else happens.”

Like the rest of the country, Tulsacame to a virtual standstill Tuesdaymorning as nearly everybody plantedthemselves in front of the nearest TV.

Some watched in glossy-eyed si-lence. Some wiped away tears. Somemumbled prayers. A few finally wres-tled themselves away from the screen,unable to watch anymore.

“You don’t want to watch. You can’thardly bear to see it,” said Carl Rog-ers, who like many other Williamsemployees, crowded around the televi-sions on the company’s trading floor.“But you can’t stop watching, becauseit’s happening and it won’t stop.”

At south Tulsa’s Thoreau middleschool, Maggie Larkin was late forschool because she didn’t want tostop watching TV at home. But itdidn’t matter, because everybody atschool was watching TV, too.

“I don’t want to hear after schoolthat anything else happened,” the 12-year-old said. “That the president gotblown up or something.”

The school’s principal got on the in-tercom and announced just after 9:30a.m. that more TV sets would bemade available for classrooms.

“This is something that precludesnormal operations at your school,”Tom Padalino said. “This is historic.”

Back at OSU-Tulsa, workers werescrambling to hook up extra TV setsin the hallways, using makeshift cablelines dangling out of the ceilings.

“We just knew interest in this wasgoing to be extreme,” said Harry An-derson, the video services manager.He felt the need to do something —

anything — and hooking up TV setswas at least something. “There’s notmuch we can do here,” he said.

In the student center, the crowd satmotionless all morning. Except for theTV, the only noise came from cellphones as people exchanged informa-tion with friends and relatives whowere watching other channels on oth-er televisions.

That’s how the crowd there learned

that yet another airliner had been re-ported hijacked — Shrout’s mothercalled with the news. And anotherround of gasps escaped from thecrowd as she repeated it aloud.

“It’s kind of hard to go on with any-thing else while this is going on,”said Shrout, a university employee.“I’m scared and I’m in shock.”

Like many other Oklahomans, shewas already comparing the events

Tuesday to the Murrah Buildingbombing six years ago.

“Up to this point, Oklahoma Citywas the worst thing that ever hap-pened,” she said. “But this is a hun-dred times more devastating.”

Michael Overall, World staff writer, can bereached at 581-8383 or via e-mail at mi-chael.overall@tulsaworld.com. Ashley Parrish,World staff writer, can be reached at 581-8318or via e-mail at ashley.parrish@tulsaworld.com.

DAVID CRENSHAW / Tulsa World

Denice Cook pauses from shopping at Sears, at 21st Street and Yale Avenue, to watch TV coverage.

JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World

Stranded from grounded and diverted flights, passengers swarm the rental caragencies Tuesday at Tulsa International Airport. City officials were working tofind other accommodations.

MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World

Tulsans gather at Holy Family Cathedral in downtown Tulsa on Tuesday topray for victims of the terrorist attacks.

7Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N

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SOURCES: NBC; compiled from AP wire reports AP

World Trade terrorIn a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two planes into the 110-story World Trade Centertowers, causing them to collapse Tuesday morning. One of planes was en route from Boston to LosAngeles, the other was en route from Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles.

Minutes later, a second plane wasseen over the HudsonRiver headed towardsthe south tower.

The plane crashed into the south tower,creating a fireball of flameand smoke.

Shortly before 9 a.m., a plane crashed into thenorth tower of the World TradeCenter leaving gaping holesin its side.

About an hour after the attack, the southtower collapsed. The northtower collapsed about a halfhour after that.

AMY SANCETTA / Associated Press

A man coughs from dust inhalation after the World Trade Center towers collapsed from a terroristattack.

AMY SANCETTA / Associated Press

Pedestrians flee the area of the World Trade Center as the center’s south tower collapses.

State-by-state reactionASSOCIATED PRESS

Precautions taken in variousU.S. states and New York Cityin the wake of the terrorist at-tacks:

The Federal Aviation Admin-istration shut down airports na-tionwide.

A L A BAMA: Security in-creased at military bases in-cluding Redstone Arsenal, siteof the Army missile commandand NASA’s Marshall SpaceFlight Center.

C ALIFORNIA: Airportsclosed, as are other landmarks.State on high alert. EmergencyCouncil convened as Gov. GrayDavis requested heightened se-curity at all state buildings.

COLORADO: City and stateofficials stepped up securityaround government buildings.Denver opened an emergencypreparedness office, where rep-resentatives of police, fire andhealth agencies, public trans-portation officials, Denver Inter-national Airport and utilitieswere gathering.

FLORIDA : Security height-ened at federal courts. WaltDisney World evacuated andclosed its parks and shoppingand entertainment complex.Space shuttle operations halted,12,000 employees of KennedySpace Center sent home.

GEORGI A : All flights atHartsfield Atlanta InternationalAirport, the nation’s busiest,stopped. The CNN Center,world headquarters of CableNews Network, closed to thepublic, although journalists atCNN and The Associated Pressremained.

I LLINOIS: Sears Tower shutdown, state government build-ings in Chicago and Springfieldclosed. National Guard on stateof heightened alert in Illinois.

INDIA N A : Federal offices onalert.

KENTUCK Y : Southern Gov-ernors’ Association canceledannual fall meeting so gover-nors of Arkansas, Georgia, Lou-isiana, Mississippi, Tennessee,Kentucky and West Virginiacould head back to their states.

LOUISI A N A : Upper floors ofthe 34-floor Capitol buildingclosed. Louisiana Offshore OilPort, which handles supertank-ers in the Gulf of Mexico, sus-pends operations. State’s 19 oilrefineries on alert.

M ARYLAND: Officials tighten-ing security throughout thestate. Security heightened atAndrews Air Force Base. Balti-more-Washington InternationalAirport taking arrivals, not de-parting flights.

MICHIGAN : Tunnel betweenDetroit and Windsor, Ontario,closed to car traffic and securi-ty increased along the Canadi-an border.

MINNESOT A : Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport shutdown. Evacuation of the 51-sto-ry IDS Center, the state’s tall-est building, located in down-town Minneapolis. The Mall ofAmerica, in suburban Bloo-mington, and World TradeCenter in St. Paul closed.

NEBRASK A : State employeesresponding to requests forblood donations. Security washeightened at Offutt Air ForceBase near Omaha.

N E VADA: Security increasedat casinos on the Las VegasStrip, at federal buildingsacross the state and Nellis AirForce Base near Las Vegas.Flights suspended.

NEW JERSEY: Airports andriver crossings into New YorkCity closed. Traffic reportedsnarled on the New JerseyTurnpike. At Newark Interna-tional Airport, officers withshotguns blocked the roadleading to Port Authority offic-es and the air traffic controltower.

NEW YORK: Security clampeddown across the state. Securityincreased at border points.Gov. George Pataki canceledhis New York City events.

NEW YORK CITY: Electionscalled off. Airports closed.Trading on Wall Street sus-pended. United Nations build-ing evacuated. Offices through-out Manhattan closed. Subwaylines citywide shut down.Grand Central Station andPenn Station closed, commutertrains running only out of Man-hattan to evacuate. Cellularphone service crippled. Regularphone service congested. Evac-uations from Wall Street to theUnited Nations. Lower Manhat-tan closed to all but emergencyvehicles. Bridges and tunnelsinto Manhattan closed. Rocke-feller Center property manag-ers urge tenants to go home.

NORTH CAROLINA: Militarybases prepared for possiblechange in status. At Raleigh-

Durham International Airport,spokeswoman Mirinda Kossoffsaid a strategy meeting wasplanned with the Federal Avia-tion Administration.

PENNSYLVANIA: PhiladelphiaInternational Airport closed.National Park Service officialsmeeting to determine whetherthe city’s high-profile tourist at-tractions like the Liberty Belland Independence Hall wouldbe closed.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Commercialflights from Sioux Falls, RapidCity, Pierre and other SouthDakota cities grounded.

TENNESSE E : Department ofEnergy’s nuclear weapons andresearch complex in Oak Ridgeput under heightened security.All flights from Tennessee’smajor airports grounded.Planes were allowed to land.

TEXAS: Some office buildingsevacuated. Flights out of Dal-las-Fort Worth InternationalAirport canceled and Austin-Bergstrom International closed.City Hall in El Paso closed.

UTAH : Security tightened atHill Air Force Base in Ogden.The Deseret Chemical Depotnear Tooele is at highest alert.Salt Lake International Airportshut down and some federalemployees sent home.

VERMONT: Federal buildingsin Montpelier and Burlingtonopen. State’s lone atomic plantplaced on heightened security.

V I R G INIA: Navy installationsthroughout Hampton Roads,home of the world’s largest Na-vy base, placed under an in-creased security condition. The192nd Virginia Air NationalGuard 192nd fighter squadron,an attack unit of fully armed F-16 fighter jets that will patrolthe nation’s East Coast, wereput on alert with orders todown any unauthorized aircraft.

WASHINGTON : Airports andmilitary bases throughout thestate boosted security. Outgo-ing flights canceled at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport,but planes allowed to land.Federal Court House in down-town Seattle on high alert.

WEST VIRGINIA: Chemicalplant security heightened.Flights out of Charleston’sYeager Airport, West Virginia’slargest, suspended. CapitolComplex evacuated. Federalcourthouses closed.

8 Tuesday ★ September 11, 2001S P E C I A L E X T R A E D I T I O N