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9/11: Recalling the horror
28/08/2003 21:28 - (SA)
New York - Following a bitter legal battle, officials prepared to release Thursday transcripts of emergency calls made during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, despite opposition from victims' families.
According to excerpts reported by the newspaper Newsday, the transcripts include poignant and harrowing radio transmissions made by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey staff just minutes before they died.
A Port Authority police sergeant Robert Kaulfers called in a "mayday" just hours before the south tower of the Trade Centre collapsed, killing the father of two.
Another officer, David Lim, who climbed into one of the burning towers to rescue people and became trapped for hours when the building fell, called to ask someone to save his explosives-sniffing dog, which was in the basement.
Lim eventually survived, although his dog died.
In an interview with Newsday, the Port Authority's chief medical officer Lillian Valenti, said the transcripts showed the professionalism of the agency's civilian and police staff, 84 of whom were killed in the attack.
"It's absolutely stunning the degree of objectivity and professional interchange among everyone on the transcripts to get the deed done to evacuate as many people as possible and rescue the injured," Valenti said.
Transcripts
The transcripts cover radio transmissions and calls made inside the twin towers to the Port Authority agency, which owns the Trade Centre site and was responsible for security arrangements.
Their release ends an 18-month campaign by The New York Times, which had sued the agency for access to the 2 000 pages of transcripts and other internal documents related to the response to the terrorist attack.
A settlement under which the documents would be released was struck in June, but the Port Authority later sought to back out of the agreement, citing privacy concerns and sensitivity to the victims' families.
Last week, a state superior judge ruled that the June settlement was binding.
Gus Danese, President of the Port Authority Police Association, said the manner in which the transcripts were being released was especially hurtful for the relatives of the 37 police officers who died.
"They are being released to the media before a lot of family members have had the opportunity to see them, and we think that's totally unfair," Danese said.
'Valid contract'
"And the timing is awful; We're coming up on the second anniversary of the attack, which in itself opens old wounds. This is only going to add to that.
"It's a privacy issue. I'm not against these transcripts being released, but the families should see them first," he said.
Lawyers for The New York Times had argued that their release would help provide a better understanding of how emergency operations were handled in the immediate wake of the attack.
In her ruling last week, Judge Sybil Moses said the June settlement between the newspaper and the Port Authority was a "valid contract" and her order to release the transcripts was therefore based on contract law rather than the issue of privacy.
The Port Authority said the transcripts would be made available to the media, at a cost of $500, from 17:00 on Thursday. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA
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