Malta’s Civil Protection Department today organised its annual Stair Climb Challenge at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in memory of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The CPD was joined by members of the Malta Police Force and the public, with first responders taking part in full gear.
The CPD thanked all those who joined the initiative and remembered the sacrifice of the first responders who rushed to save lives during the attacks.
On September 11, 2001, four passenger aircraft hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists were used to carry out coordinated suicide attacks against the United States. Two aircraft were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, while a third struck the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. A fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to overpower the hijackers.
A total of 2,977 victims were killed in the attacks, excluding the 19 hijackers. Among them were 412 emergency workers, including 343 New York City firefighters, 37 Port Authority police officers and 23 NYPD officers, who died while responding to the attacks.
The human cost has continued long after September 11. Tens of thousands of first responders and survivors have subsequently been diagnosed with cancers, respiratory diseases and other medical conditions associated with exposure to the enormous cloud of toxic dust and debris that engulfed Lower Manhattan following the collapse of the Twin Towers.
Newsroom
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