September 11th, 2001.
This is a date that the world will never forget. On this fateful day, New York City was attacked in what would become the largest-scale terror attack in modern history.
While the world mourned for the thousands who died in the attacks, the rebuilding process began. And now, thousands of never-before-seen pictures of the wreckage and clean-up operations have been unearthed.
The photos shine a haunting new light onto the wreckage and demonstrate the sheer scale and magnitude that the attack had on Manhattan.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, 4 commercial airplanes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Centre’s Twin Towers, the western side of the Pentagon, and a field just outside of Pennsylvania.
A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, DC, and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
343 of those were New York City firefighters, twenty-three were New York City police officers and thirty-seven were officers at the Port Authority.
Every year, the date comes round and we relive countless videos and pictures taken on the day of the attacks.
Though they’re heartbreaking and gut-wrenching to watch, it is so important that we remember what happened on that awful day.
Found amongst a stash of CDs bought at a house clearance sale, thousands of never-seen-before photos of Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attack were discovered, a whole eighteen years after the tragedy.
The newly discovered photos show the construction sites in Ground Zero, views from the ground level, the damaged interior, and the twisted remains of the World Trade Centre.
They were discovered by the partner of Dr. Johnathan Burgess at a house clearance sale in Massachusetts, who then went and released them through archivist, Jason Scott.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr. Burgess said, “Generally these items are neglected at sales. It’s very likely these would be in a dumpster by now had we not gone. It’s a miracle the discs transferred so well, CD-ROMs of that age are pretty spotty.”
He used a CD recovery service to retrieve some of the images.
In the years since the attacks, over 40,000 service workers have seen a decline in their health, including respiratory problems, digestive-system ailments, and various cancers, which have all been triggered by the exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins from the rubble.
Burgess believes that sharing these photographs would be “doing what’s right for humanity.”
If you have an inkling or idea who this photographer might be, or even recognize any of the faces in the photographs, you can contact Burgess and Scott at [email protected] Because it would be amazing if any of these workers could be identified.
So, without further ado… Keep scrolling to see a collection of the newly unearthed photos. They truly make you realize how much our servicemen did for our country on its biggest day of need.
Thousands of our service men worked tirelessly around the clock, all in the aim to sift the debris and recover the many bodies that were still missing.
Our country owes so much to these men, so it would be fantastic if they could be identified.
You can find the full collection of photographs here.