'We Were Kids, So Vulnerable': Former NYU Student Recounts Horror Of Watching 9/11 Unfold From Just Blocks Away

· Free Press Journal

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, former New York University (NYU) student Caroline Dries recalled the horrific moments when two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, describing the fear, confusion and helplessness she experienced from just a few buildings away. Dries shared her memories of the attacks with CNN.

Dries said she had received a camera just a week before the attacks and had used it for the first time on the night of September 10.

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"We were kids, we were so vulnerable and so naive," she recalled, describing how she initially struggled to comprehend what she was witnessing after the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

Her initial reaction was disbelief when she saw people falling from the burning buildings. "There was no way people could be jumping to their death from the building," she recalled thinking.

Dries and her friends were staying only a few buildings away from the World Trade Center at the time and had a clear view of the unfolding tragedy. As the scale of the attack became apparent, fear and uncertainty took over.

"I remember feeling like I don't know what to do. That feeling of like being so vulnerable was so overwhelming," she said.

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Dries and her friends eventually fled the apartment, taking an elevator down to the street. However, the situation outside was equally chaotic, with people struggling to understand what was happening around them.

"It was kind of pandemonium on the street with no one knowing what was happening," she recalled.

Feeling unsafe, Dries and her friends returned to the apartment. From there, they continued to witness the devastating aftermath as the attack transformed the surrounding area.

"It looked like something out of a horror movie. This massive dust cloud consuming everything in its path, it was all surreal," she said.

Twenty-five years later, Dries' memories offer a firsthand account of the confusion and vulnerability experienced by ordinary New Yorkers who found themselves at the centre of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history.

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What Happened On 9/11?

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists carried out a coordinated attack in the US after hijacking four passenger aircraft. Two planes were deliberately crashed into New York’s World Trade Center towers, while a third struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

The fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers. The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives and had a profound impact on US foreign policy and global security.

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