Casualties of the September 11 attacks

The September 11 attacks resulted in 2,996 immediate (attack time) deaths: 2,977 victims and the 19 hijackers. A total of 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. About 292 people were killed at street level by burning debris and falling bodies of those who had jumped or fallen from the World Trade Center's windows. All the deaths in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon. 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. The other 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. In 2009, a man who died in 2008 was added, and in 2011 a man who died in 2010.

Additionally 1,140 workers have been diagnosed with cancer, caused by toxic smoke.

Evacuation

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. Turnstile counts from the Port Authority indicate that the number of people typically in the Twin Towers by 10:30 am was 14,154.

In the moments after Flight 11 struck the North Tower, the roughly 8,000 people on the floors below the point of impact were faced with a harrowing scenario. The towers of the World Trade Center complex had not been designed to facilitate a mass evacuation of everybody in the buildings, and in each tower there were only three narrow stairwells descending to the ground level. Many people began to evacuate via the stairs on their own, while others chose to wait for instructions from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Another hindrance to the evacuation of the World Trade Center was that as the planes struck, the force of the impact caused the buildings to shift enough to jam doors in their frames, trapping dozens of people throughout the building, mostly on the floors closer to the impact zone. As evacuees descended down the staircases in the North Tower, they were directed to descend to the concourse level beneath the World Trade Center complex, where the mall was located.

Within moments of Flight 11's impact, the Port Authority issued a complete evacuation of the North Tower. Meanwhile, in the South Tower, many people saw what had happened in the North Tower and chose to evacuate as a precaution. However, the major hindrance to this process was that for the seventeen minutes between the impacts of Flight 11 and Flight 175, it had not yet been determined that a terrorist attack was unfolding, and as a result the Port Authority in the South Tower spread the word via the building's intercom system and security guards for workers in the South Tower to remain in their offices.

This was done in order to avoid overcrowding on the plaza and concourse levels, which was feared would slow the evacuation and rescue operations in the North Tower. Regardless, thousands of people continued to evacuate the South Tower anyway. For example, in the uppermost section of the South Tower between the 78th Floor Sky Lobby and the Observation Deck on the 107th and 110th Floors, there were an estimated 2,000 employees on those floors, including 1,100 on the floors occupied by AON Insurance, those being the 92nd, and 98th-105th. One of AON's executives, Eric Eisenberg, initiated the evacuation of their floors within moments of the impact of Flight 11.

A similar evacuation was carried out on the floors occupied by Fiduciary Trust, on the 90th, 94th-97th floors, as well as in the offices of Fuji Bank (on floors 79-82) and Euro Brokers on floor 84, which occupied the floors directly above the 78th Floor Sky Lobby. Executives such as Eisenberg instructed their employees to take the stairs down to the 78th floor Sky Lobby, where they could take an express elevator to the ground level and exit the building. Within a window of roughly 17 minutes, between 8:46 AM and 9:03 AM, an estimated 1,400 people successfully evacuated the upper floors of the South Tower, while roughly 600 people did not. At the moment of the impact of Flight 175, an estimated 200 people had packed into the Sky Lobby on the 78th Floor and were waiting for the express elevators. A vast majority of these people died on impact, as the lobby was in the lower section of Flight 175's impact zone.

Once both towers had been struck, the order to evacuate the North Tower quickly spread to encompass not only the entire World Trade Center complex, but most high rise buildings in Lower Manhattan and surrounding areas as well. The evacuation of employees from the North and South towers continued past the plaza and through the concourse. Evacuees from the North Tower were directed across the full length of the concourse to 5 World Trade Center, from where they exited the complex onto Church Street. Evacuees from the South Tower were provided with a separate route in order to deter congestion, with theirs leading them to 4 World Trade Center and exiting onto Liberty Street.

Survivors

Only 14 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 84th floor after initial impact. They escaped via Stairwell A (which was in the northwest corner), 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. Because of communication between 911 operators (FDNY and NYPD responders were 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.

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. 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.

Fatalities

World Trade Center

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. To witnesses watching, a few of the people falling from the towers seemed to have jumped, 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".

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.

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. Marsh Inc., located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–100 (the location of Flight 11's impact), lost 295 employees and 63 consultants. Risk Waters was holding a conference in Windows on the World at the time, with 81 people in attendance.

John P. O'Neill was a former assistant director of the FBI who assisted in the capture of 1993 World Trade Center bomber 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. An additional 24 people remain listed as missing.

The average age of the dead in New York City was 40. The dead included eight children: five on American Airlines Flight 77 ranging in age from 3 to 11, three on United Airlines Flight 175 ages 2, 3, and 4. The youngest victim was a 2 1/2 year-old child on Flight 175, the oldest was an 85 year-old passenger on Flight 11. In the buildings, the youngest victim was 18 and the oldest was 79.

Pentagon

Of the 125 victims in the Pentagon, 70 were civilians and 55 were military personnel. Lieutenant General Timothy Maude was the highest-ranking military official killed at the Pentagon.

By the numbers

2,977 fatalities included the following:

• 246 aboard the four hijacked planes. Including the 19 hijackers, this includes 76 passengers and 11 crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 11; 49 passengers and 11 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 175; 53 passengers and 6 crew members aboard American Airlines Flight 77; and 33 passengers and 7 crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93.
• 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground:
  • This includes 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters, including one FDNY Fire Chaplain, Franciscan Fr. Mychal Judge, 23 New York City Police Department officers, and 37 Port Authority Police Department officers. Casualties of the 9/11 attacks also included 15 EMTs and 3 Court Officers. Approximately 2,000 first responders were also injured in the attacks.
  • 1,366 people died who were at or above the floors of impact in the North Tower (1 WTC); according to the Commission Report, hundreds were killed instantly by the impact while the rest were trapped and died after the tower collapsed (though a few people were pulled from the rubble, none of them were from above the impact zone).
  • As many as 600 people were killed instantly or trapped at or above the floors of impact in the South Tower (2 WTC). Only about 18 managed to escape in time from above and in the impact zone and out of the South Tower before it collapsed.
  • Of those who worked below the impact zones, 110 were among those killed in the attacks. The 9/11 Commission notes that this fact strongly indicates that evacuation below the impact zones was a success, allowing most to safely evacuate before the collapse of the World Trade Center.
  • A USA Today report estimated that approximately 200 people perished inside the elevators, while only 21 escaped the elevators. Many elevators did not plunge, but were destroyed due to the crash and subsequent fires, or were stranded in the shafts. A locking mechanism prevented escapees and rescuers, with the exception of one elevator, from opening the doors of some of the stranded elevators.
  • A bomb sniffing dog named Sirius (not included in above total).
• 125 in the Pentagon

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.

Company Tower Floors Casualties Cantor Fitzgerald North 101-105 658 Marsh & McLennan North 93-100 295 Aon Corporation South 92, 98-105 175 Fiduciary Trust International South 90, 94-97 87 Windows on the World North 106-107 72 Carr Futures North 92 69 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods South 85, 88-89 67 Sandler O'Neill & Partners South 104 66 Euro Brokers Inc. South 84 61 New York State Department of Taxation and Finance South 86-87 39 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey North 3,14,19,24,28,31,34 37 Fred Alger Management North 93 35 Fuji Bank South 79-82 23 Forte Food Service North Cantor Fitzgerald 21 ABM Industries Both N/A 17 Risk Waters Group North Windows on the World 16 General Telecom North 83 13 Washington Group International South 91 12 American Express North 94 11 Summit Security Services Both N/A 11 Morgan Stanley Both North:59-74 - South:43-46, 56, 59-74 10 Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Association North 27-28, 30-31 8 Alliance Consulting North 102 7 Accenture North Windows on the World 6 Harvey Young Yurman Inc. North Windows on the World 6 Bronx Builders North Windows on the World 5 Forest Electric Corp. North Cantor Fitzgerald 5 Harris Beach LLP South 85 5 OCS Security Throughout Complex N/A 5 Regus South 93 5 Baseline Financial Services South 77-78 4 Compaq North Windows on the World 4 Data Synapse North Windows on the World 4 International Office Centers North 79 4 Merrill Lynch North Windows on the World 4 Mizuho Capital South 80 4 Oracle Corporation North 99 4 Pitney Bowes South 102 4 Wachovia Corp. North 47 4 Zurich American Insurance South 105 4 Bank of America North 81 3 Bank of New York N/A Killed by Falling Debris 3 Bloomberg L.P. North Windows on the World 3 Callixa North Windows on the World 3 The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Co. South 83 3 Citibank North:1 Subway:1 N/A:1 105 3 Encompys North Windows on the World 3 IPC Kleinknecht Electric Co. North 105 3 IQ Financial Systems South 83 3 New York State Department of Transportation North 82 3 Reinsurance Solutions Inc. North 94 3 Structure Tone South 97, 105 3 SunGard South 102,104 3 Thomson Financial Services North Windows on the World 3 Advantage Security Both N/A 2 BP Air Conditioning North 101 2 Certified Installation Services South 105 2 Denino Electric North 95 2 Deutsche Bank WTC 4 N/A 2 Devonshire Group North 94 2 Fine Painting and Decorating South Observation Deck 2 First Commercial Bank N/A N/A 2 FM Global South 102 2 Franklin Templeton Investments South 95 2 Genuity South 110 2 Guy Carpenter North 94 2 Imagine Software (US) North Windows on the World 2 Instinet (Reuters) North 13-14 2 Studley, Inc. North 86, 88 2 Keane South 78 2 Kidder Peabody-Paine Webber North 101 2 Marriott World Trade Center Hotel N/A N/A 2 Metropolitan Life Insurance North 89 2 New York Presbyterian Hospital N/A N/A 2 Nishi-Nippon Bank North 102 2 Nomura Research Institute Ltd. North Windows on the World 2 Ohrenstein & Brown North 85 2 One Source Networks (Hudson Shatz) N/A N/A 2 P.E. Stone Inc. Both North:92 South:105 2 Petrocelli Electric N/A Morgan Stanley Offices 2 Radianz North Windows on the World 2 Random Walk Computing North 80 2 Reuters North Windows on the world 2 Rohde & Liesenfeld North 20, 32-33 2 Silverstein Properties South 88 2 Slam Dunk Networks North 101 2 Sybase North Above Impact Zone 2 UBS PaineWebber N/A Outside Towers 2 UME Voice North Windows on the World 2 Verizon South 9-12 2 Vestek South 78 2 Xerox South Basement Level 2 Zurich Scudder Investments North Windows on the World 2 A.L. Sarroff N/A N/A 1 Advent Corporation North Roof 1 AGI South 103 1 Algorithmics Inc. North Windows on the World 1 Allendale Insurance South 102 1 American Stock Exchange North Windows on the World 1 Aramark Corp South N/A 1 ARC Partners North Windows on the World 1 ASAP NetSource N/A N/A 1 Association of Independent Recruiters North 79 1 Avalon Partners North 83 1 BEA Systems North Windows on the World 1 Bear Stearns N/A N/A 1 BMO Nesbitt Burns North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Boston Investor Services North Windows on the World 1 Brinks N/A Basement 1 Cabrini Hospice N/A N/A 1 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft North Windows on the World 1 Cambridge Technology Partners North Windows on the World 1 Caplin Systems North Windows on the World 1 CBS North 110 1 Chase Manhattan Bank N/A N/A 1 Civilian Complaint Review Board (Heart Attack) N/A N/A 1 Colonial Art Decorators North Windows on the World 1 Consolidated Edison N/A N/A 1 Credit Suisse First Boston North Windows on the World 1 Cultural Institution of Retirement Systems North 39 1 Deloitte Consulting North Marsh & McLennan 1 Empire Distribution N/A N/A 1 EnPointe Technologies N/A N/A 1 F.M. Global South 105 1 Federal Bureau of Investigation N/A N/A 1 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation North Windows on the World 1 Fine & Schapiro restaurant N/A N/A 1 First Liberty Investment Group North 79 1 Forest Hills Ambulance Corps N/A N/A 1 Frank W.Lin & Co. North 89 1 G.M.P. Inc. North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Garban Intercapital North 25-26 1 GoldTier Technologies North Windows on the World 1 Health Canada South 105 1 Hill International North 64 1 Holland & Knight N/A N/A 1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute N/A N/A 1 IBM Global North 95 1 Industrial Bank of Japan North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Insurance Overload Systems North 79 1 Internal Revenue Service N/A N/A 1 Janus Capital Group North Windows on the World 1 Jennison Associates North Windows on the World 1 Krestrel Technologies North 105 1 LaBranche & Co. South 28-30 1 Lanagan Engineering and Environmental Services N/A N/A 1 Lee Hecht Harrison South 93 1 Lehman Brothers North 38-40 1 LG Insurance Co. N/A N/A 1 Liberty Electrical Supply Inc. N/A Basement 1 LION Bioscience AG South 94 1 LJ Gonzer N/A N/A 1 MAS Security North Windows on the World 1 May Davis Group North 89 1 McKeon-Grano South 66 1 Metrocare N/A N/A 1 Mitsui Bank South 83 1 MoneyLine North Windows on the World 1 NanoTek N/A Basement 1 National Acoustics Inc. North 103 1 NTX Interiors North 102 1 Office Centers Corp. North 79 1 Optus North Windows on the World 1 Pfizer Inc. North Windows on the World 1 PM Contracting North 103 1 Proven Electrical Contracting Inc. N/A N/A 1 QRS Corp. Marriott World Trade Center 17 1 Reliable N/A N/A 1 Rent-a-PC North Windows on the World 1 Risk Solutions International North Marsh & McLennan 1 Royal & SunAlliance South AON 1 Royston and Zamani South Fuji Bank 1 Scient North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Seabury & Smith Co. South 49 1 Sidley Austin Brown & Wood North 54, 56-59 1 Siemens N/A Killed by Falling Debris 1 Signature Painting and Decorating North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Singer Frumento LLP South 104 1 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill South AON 1 Sodexo North 96 1 Soundtone Floors Inc. N/A N/A 1 Sweeney and Heeking Carpentry N/A N/A 1 Syncorp North Marsh & McLennan 1 TCG Software North Windows on the World 1 Telekurs USA North Windows on the World 1 The Westfield Group South 17 1 ThyssenKrupp N/A N/A 1 Top of the World Cafe South 107, 110 1 UBS Warburg North Windows on the World 1 United Staffing North Cantor Fitzgerald 1 Vanderbilt Group Inc. South N/A 1 Vital Computer Services North Marsh & McLennan 1 WABC-TV North 110 1 WCBS-TV North 110 1 Wipro Technologies North 97 1 WNBC-TV North 110 1 WNET-TV North 110 1 World Trade Center N/A N/A 1 World Trade Center Project Renewal N/A N/A 1 WPIX-TV North 110 1 Foreign casualties 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). Country Total fatalities Argentina 4 Australia 11 Bangladesh 6 Belarus 1 Belgium 1 Bermuda 2 Brazil 3 Canada 24 Chile 1 China 2 Colombia 18 D.R. Congo 2 Dominican Republic 47 Ecuador 13 El Salvador 2 Ethiopia 3 F.R. Yugoslavia 2 France 4 Germany 11 Ghana 2 Guyana 3 Haiti 2 Hong Kong 2 Honduras 1 India 41 Indonesia 1 Ireland 6 Israel 5 Italy 10 Ivory Coast 1 Country Total fatalities Jamaica 16 Japan 24 Jordan 2 Lebanon 4 Lithuania 1 Malaysia 3 Mexico 15 Moldova 1 Netherlands 1 New Zealand 2 Nigeria 1 Pakistan 8 Paraguay 2 Peru 5 Philippines 16 Poland 6 Portugal 5 Romania 4 Russia 1 South Africa 2 South Korea 28 Spain 1 Sweden 2 Switzerland 2 Taiwan 1 Trinidad and Tobago 14 Ukraine 1 United Kingdom 67 Uzbekistan 1 Venezuela 1 Forensic identification As of September 11, 2012, 2,753 death certificates were filed relating to the attacks. Of these, 1,588 (58%) were forensically identified from recovered physical remains. 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." Bone fragments were still being found in 2006 as workers prepared the damaged Deutsche Bank Building for demolition. On April 17, 2013, five possible remains were recovered after being sifted at Fresh Kills on Staten Island. The medical examiner said evidence of a possible victim of the attacks was recovered as well two days later. On June 21, 2013, the medical examiner's office identified its 1,637th victim, a 43-year-old woman, to its list of victims, as a result of DNA testing of debris collected from the site. By family request, her name was not released. On July 5, 2013, the medical examiner's office identified the remains of FDNY firefighter Lt. Jeffrey P. Walz, 37, after they were retested. His remains were recovered just months after the attack and is now the 1,638th victim recorded. See also Health effects arising from the September 11 attacks September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows World Trade Center Health Program Alicia Esteve Head, supposed survivor of the attacks who was later revealed to be a fraud References External links Full list of WTC attacks victims 9/11/01-02: A Demographic Portrait Of The Victims In 10048 THE INJURED: A Fireball, a Prayer to Die, Then a Hard Battle to Live, New York Times, October 17, 2001 The Battery Is Down, All Right, and Crippled, New York Times, October 3, 2001 THE MOURNER: In a Landscape of Sadness, Offering Just Her Presence, New York Times, October 1, 2001 the story of Carol O'Neill, wife of a founder of Sandler O'Neill, which lost 67 of 180 employees THE TRADE CENTER: The Evacuation That Kept a Horrible Toll From Climbing Higher, New York Times, September 21, 2001 AP (NY Times)--190 Feared Dead at the Pentagon New York Times "Hopes Are Raised, and Dashed, About Rescue of Firefighters" September 13, 2011 Discovery Channel: Inside the Twin Towers Memorial page dedicated to FDNY Firefighters lost on 9/11 Memorials at odmp.org Honoring Law Enforcement Officers Killed as a result of 9/11 Collateral Damage, The forgotten Muslim victims of September 11, 2001, The Independent, October 11, 2001 Partial list of Jews killed on 9-11 and countering the conspiracy theory that Jews were warned in advance. List of the dead by name, Book of the Dead webpage