Spreading the news

EVENTS in America reverberated around the world.

A special late edition of the Evening News brought the awful news and horrific images to city readers under the heading “War on the USA”.

The news was almost unbelievable. Two hijacked planes had smashed into the World Trade Centre towers, leading to their collapse. Another hit the Pentagon in Washington. Passengers on board a fourth plane overwhelmed their hijackers and the aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania. A total of 2996 people lost their lives, including 19 terrorists.

Three days after the attacks, Edinburgh citizens joined 800 million Europeans in three minutes’ silent tribute to the victims. A mass of floral tributes was left outside the American Consulate in Regent Terrace, where many signed their names to a book of condolence.

A special service was held at St Giles’ Cathedral to pray for victims of the attacks and their relatives. Later, city firefighters erected a memorial plaque at their force HQ to mark the sacrifices made by their counterparts in New York City.