'It was as if a dam burst'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 20. The worst ever terrorist attack on the United States saw the world's finance centre, World Trade Centre, in New York crumbling down. And there were hundreds who saw the symbols of economic supremacy coming down.

One of the witnesses, Mr. Vikram Sura, a New York-based freelance journalist, explained: "The gargantuan tower slumped like a vanquished Goliath right in front of our eyes. And a gigantic swirling wall of dust and ash gushed through the streets as if a dam burst and it menacingly chased the crowd".

"A sea of people was fleeing in panic. After sprinting for three blocks, all of us, by now awash in ash, turned to see the skyline. It was empty but for a pall of grey smoke. It's gone and all those people have gone, the security guard wailed, his arms to the sky, his face frozen," he recalled.

"A sobbing young woman on wobbly legs was scampering towards the tower. Not knowing who to ask, she pointed her hand to the tower and kept saying, `my brother was there.. my brother was there'. But then, moments later, the north tower imploded. We weren't warned until a sanitation department official holding a walkie- talkie ran towards us, wildly waving his arms and shouted, `run, the tower will come down now, run, run...'"

Mr. Sura continued: "By 10.55 a.m., I managed to get near to the ground, which was declared unstable by the officials. But emergency workers, who had already reached the spot, cared little. Fire-fighters and police officers donned helmets, mounted oxygen tanks on their backs and marched towards the flattened foundations."

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