The only known aerial photographs of the World Trade Center as it collapsed on 11 September 2001, have been released.
The photos, taken from a helicopter by New York Police Detective Greg Semendinger, show the twin towers in flames, falling amid huge, billowing clouds of dust, debris and smoke that envelop downtown Manhattan.
The 13 photographs were among thousands of pictures that ABC News sought under the Freedom of Information Act from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which investigated the collapse of the towers, agency spokeswoman Gale Porter said.
Nearly 3,000 people died in 2001 when the twin towers were struck by hijacked airliners.
The aerial photographs had been partially published in the past but now are publicly available to researchers.
‘With these pictures, you move from a specific slice of information to much greater context,’ said Jan Ramirez, chief curator at the US National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
