This essay was linked to an essay I published in the New York Times in 2021 and published in my book “Hotel 9/11," the only book dedicated to the survivors of 3 World Trade Center
Joyce Ng — Survivor of 3 World Trade Center, 13th Floor
I was on the 13th floor of the World Trade Center Marriott Hotel when the first plane hit the North Tower. The Marriott Hotel is at the base of the Twin Towers and connects the North and South Towers.
It seemed like a regular day on the morning of September 11, 2001. All of a sudden, I heard an immense explosion. The explosion was so powerful, it rocked the building and my entire room shook. I did not know what it was. I thought it might have been an earthquake or a construction accident. I ran out to the hallway to find some news and saw no one.
I called the front desk — lines were busy. I finally looked out the window — what I saw was unimaginable horror. Fiery debris was raining outside my window. I saw a blizzard of glass, paper, debris and chunks of metal avalanching to the ground into the plaza between the two towers. The explosion had sent burning debris and glass to the plaza below.
I saw scores of people running for cover. I saw other people collapse as they were hit by flying debris. I was shocked and horrified as I watched from my room as people were running for their lives, getting hit by debris and being injured or killed.
More thunderous explosions erupted as additional large chunks of building fell outside my window and came plummeting down to the plaza. Pieces of metal the size of couches fell right in front of my eyes as I looked on in horror. I became terrified that the debris would crash right into my room so I ran to the bathroom. My heart was racing — I thought my life was over.
I heard a woman in the hallway yell, “Get out of the building!” I went out to the hallway and saw a tall blond woman yelling, “Get out of here!” Some people started coming out of their rooms, confused. At this point, I still didn’t know what was happening but I grabbed my wallet and my phone and went to the nearest stairway. Only a few others followed. The tall blond woman kept stopping on each floor to warn others. I asked her what was going on. She just kept screaming, “Get out of the building!”
I continued my way down the stairs and was the first to reach the lower floor. The only exit was a glass door leading to the plaza. Unfortunately, it led to the plaza between the Twin Towers where it was still avalanching thick dust, paper, glass shards and metal chunks. We couldn’t leave through that door or we would have been killed by the falling debris. Fear consumed me for a few seconds at the thought of not being able to get out of the building. I went back up the stairs. I took a chance and got off the floor which luckily, was the hotel lobby. A security personnel was directing people out. Along with numerous other people, I walked out of the building. The first person I noticed outside was a police officer.
He screamed at us, “Get out of this area and don’t look up!”
“Get out of the area and don’t look up, get out of the area and don’t look up “- these words rang in my ears as I walked away. I tried to use my cell phone but all connections were busy. As I crossed the street, I turned around and looked up at the World Trade Center — unspeakable horror loomed above me. Flames were bellowing out from the top floor windows of the first tower. I watched in shock as the World Trade Center burned. It was an inferno.
I felt a wave of sadness as I realized all the people in those top floors were burning and dying. Then, I saw bodies coming out of the windows and falling to the ground. People stopped and stared — they could not peel their eyes away from the scene.
For me, witnessing the carnage in the plaza earlier in addition to the falling bodies from the building was too much to handle. I looked away and kept walking. I couldn’t bear to look anymore at the looming death all around me. As I walked, a large plane flew over me. For a second, I felt relieved because I thought it was the US Military making its way to rescue the people in the burning tower. Then I heard people wondering why a passenger plane would be flying so low towards the World Trade Center. That was when I heard a deafening crash in the sky — the plane had crashed into the second tower! The ground seemed to shake with the crash. The streets were filled with screams and everyone started running. It felt like the end of the world.
I was scared for my life. I started running and looking frantically for cover. Everyone was running for shelter — behind cars, in buildings. I ran so fast, I dropped my credit cards from my wallet. A man with a British accent picked up my credit cards and ran after me to give them back. I was thinking if we were being attacked, the safest place was to go underground. I knew I needed to get underground.
I ran and ran, sometimes it seemed in circles. I ran until I came to a subway station. I got on the №5 train at Bowling Green. Heading towards the train, I met a man whose eyes were injured from the attacks. He had glass in his eyes, just wanted to go home and see a doctor to treat his eyes.
I hopped onto the first subway that came. The subway had stopped for several minutes to reverse directions. Some people knew there was an attack, while others didn’t. When the train stopped, a few passengers started complaining that they would be late for work.
I wanted to yell at them, “If they knew what was going on outside, you would NOT be complaining.”
However, my nerves were shot, and I was shaking too much to utter a word. The train had reversed its direction to go uptown, but it had stopped for several minutes. When the train stopped, I got off at the next stop. It was only at that point, in the subway on the №5 train going uptown that I found out the World Trade Center was attacked by planes hijacked by terrorists.
The train stopped and would not go any further. I went outside and started wandering the streets of lower Manhattan. I walked around for several hours. I was walking around in a daze. People were setting up makeshift TVs and watching the news from TVs set up on the sidewalk. I was trying to call my boyfriend and parents to let them know I was alive. I was scared to be in New York City. There were rumors that the Empire State Building was attacked and planes were flying into buildings everywhere. I was terrified.
It has been three days since this horrific event. It took several hours after the attack for the trembling to stop and my heart to return to a normal rate. I am never going to forget what I saw — the images of carnage and people dying are forever etched in my memory. I have not been able to sleep peacefully without hearing the screams and the explosion and seeing the carnage in my head. I cry when I watch the news. I left behind my luggage in the hotel — it is now covered in the ruins of the World Trade Center collapse. Buried in the rubble are my luggage, clothes, backpack, laptop and notebooks. I lost these items in this horrible event. However, I am grateful that these items are the only thing I lost — I did not lose my life.
I am grateful to the tall blond woman who adamantly went to every floor yelling for everyone to get out of the building. Without her warnings, I probably would have stayed longer in my room. I am grateful for the British man in the suit who picked up my credit cards and ran after me to give them back. I am thankful for the hotel who allowed me into their ballroom shelter with the rows of rollaway beds after I was refused by a dozen hotels. I am grateful for the people on 49th street who hugged me and asked if I needed money or help after hearing my story.
Peace to all the survivors. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost or is missing loved ones.
Joyce Ng
9/14/01
Survivor of 3 World Trade Center, 13th Floor (Room 1335)