It has been 22 years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, a tragedy that left 2,977 people dead and 6,280 others injured. Quebecers who lived in New York still remember that day well.
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Speaking to Alexandre Dubé on QUB radio, architect Daniel Laporte mentioned that he remembered it like it was yesterday. He lived very close to the Twin Towers, which gave him direct access to the events. That day he was at home with his mother, who was visiting him.
“We should go eat at the restaurant on the roof of the World Trade Center,” Mr. Laporte said.
He remembers it all started at 8:46 a.m. when the first plane hit the north tower of the complex.
“That sound was the beginning of a very sad story,” he said.
When the second plane hit South Block a few minutes later, he knew something was happening.
At the same time, a few kilometers away was the Commissioner General of Quebec-New York, Michel Létourneau. The latter witnessed the second collision as he drove towards the city center. He reported this in an interview with QUB Radio.
“My partner called me in a panic, asking me where I was and what I was doing,” Mr. Létourneau recalls. We in the van didn’t really know what was going on.”
After the events, everyone who witnessed the attacks was apparently confused. The Quebec-New York commissioner general said, speechless, that he was having difficulty deciphering what had just happened.
Architect Daniel Laporte admitted the same thing, especially when he realized that the telephone lines were no longer working.
Ground zero
Following the events, some went to the site to view the damage. Among them was Michel Létourneau. The latter described this experience as painful.
He mentioned that “the scent that was there was apocalyptic.” […] We didn’t know what we would find there. Dead people, police officers, firefighters? It seems that fortunately we missed a lot of things we didn’t see.”
Mr. Létourneau added that he will always remember the smell, what he saw, but also that kind of silence.
“People looked at each other, but no one spoke. Everyone was in shock,” he continued.
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Twenty-two years later
Although the years have passed, Michel Létourneau remained in touch with everyone he met after the tragedy.
He also mentioned that every year he writes a post on his social network Facebook to remember what he saw.
For his part, Daniel Laporte explained that every September 11th he feels a heavy heart.
“What I’ve learned over the years is that it really upset everyone to the core. We live with it. We don’t think about it too much anymore,” he said.
He concluded by saying that everyone remembers exactly where they were.
And you, where were you on September 11, 2001?