Trapped in an Elevator During the World Trade Center Bombing: A Personal Account

Abstract

On February 26, 1993, a bomb explosion rocked the World Trade Center complex in New York City—killing six, injuring over one thousand people, casting tens of thousands into a life‐threatening situation, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. This paper is a personal account of what happened to eight people who, unaware of the catastrophe, found themselves trapped in a smoke‐filled express elevator for over three hours. The elevator was located in One World Trade Center, one of the two 110‐story‐tall towers in the complex. The paper describes the circumstances that brought the eight people together, the emergence of a leader and the efforts he marshaled to assure survival of the group in the hostile environment, and the events following the rescue, and provides a follow‐up of how the explosion affected the lives of some occupants in the following days. The account emphasizes the human‐interest aspects of the event and is not meant to be an objective or a technical report.