Twenty-five years after two hijacked planes brought down the World Trade Center, Guyanese academic and humanitarian Dr Tara Singh still remembers the exact route he took to work that morning — and the moment he realised America was under attack.
Singh was in his office at 22 Reade Street in Lower Manhattan, just three blocks from the World Trade Center, when the first plane struck.
"About 45 minutes later, a massive explosion south of the building suddenly shook the office," Singh recalled of the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
He told Ignite News that and his colleagues immediately rushed to the south side of the fifth floor, where they watched the North Tower burning through the windows. While his colleagues assumed it was an accident, Singh said he suspected otherwise almost immediately, reasoning that the World Trade Center did not sit on a normal flight path.
His suspicion was confirmed minutes later, when a second aircraft, United Airlines Flight 175, struck the South Tower between the 74th and 78th floors.
"I immediately said it was an al-Qaeda attack," Singh said, adding that his colleagues only then accepted that they were witnessing terrorism rather than tragedy.
The office was evacuated soon after the second strike. Singh, who described himself as the last person to leave the fifth floor, walked south along West Broadway towards the burning towers, coming across debris from a fallen aircraft engine about a block away. Police ordered residents to leave the area, but not before Singh witnessed a person fall from the towers.
He later boarded a J train at Chambers Street. As it crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, the operator brought the train to a stop and told passengers to look west.
"We watched the two massive towers collapse. Passengers screamed uncontrollably," Singh said, adding that the images stayed with him for more than six months afterward.

A Community's Loss

Twenty-five Guyanese were among the thousands killed in the attacks, Singh told Ignite News. Among them were the son and daughter of Mrs Baby Singh, whose composure at their memorial service left a lasting impression on him.
"Instead of being consoled, Mrs Singh comforted others who were overwhelmed," he said, noting that she was still in shock after losing her only two children. "I have never witnessed a situation where a victim's mother consoles grieving supporters, instead of being consoled herself."
Singh and Dr Dhanpaul Narine organised a memorial service for the families of Guyanese victims at the Starlite Pavilion in Richmond Hill, New York, in the aftermath of the attacks, to show the community's support for grieving families.
Not every escape from the towers that day ended in tragedy. Singh's own niece, who worked at the WTC, survived after she and her colleagues defied an instruction from building security to remain in place and instead fled down an internal stairwell. Those who stayed behind, following the official guidance, did not survive, Singh said.

Rebuilding and Remembrance

In the years that followed, Singh returned repeatedly to the WTC site, watching the rubble cleared and later searching a memorial plaque bearing victims' names to check whether any additional Guyanese names had been added. He continued visiting as the site was rebuilt, at one point attending a meeting inside one of the new towers after his employer considered relocating its department there — a move that ultimately did not happen.
Today, Singh said, the rebuilt World Trade Center stands as "a testament to American ingenuity."
He said the anniversary is also an occasion to remember the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, who died fighting hijackers over Somerset County, Pennsylvania, before the plane could reach Washington, as well as those killed when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.
Singh has taken part in memorial ceremonies honouring victims and first responders in the years since the attacks. Twenty-five years on, he said, the events of that day remain as vivid as ever.
"I could write an entire book about the experience," he said.

Photo credit: AP
Dr Tara Singh