‘Shock, confusion and gut-wrenching fear’: What it was like to report on 9/11 from Washington
It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter of a century since that horrific day that changed the world, and all of us who bore witness to it.
I was in Washington on that day as a very young federal politics reporter for Channel 10. I was covering the US visit of then-prime minister John Howard on what was my first big overseas trip as a journalist.
Deborah Knight, reporting from Washington for Channel 10 on 9/11. Network Ten
The initial news of a plane hitting one of the World Trade Centre towers in New York didn’t cause much of a ripple. It was first thought to be a terrible accident, not involving a passenger plane, but a sightseeing light plane.
Everything changed when the second plane slammed into the second tower and exploded in a fireball - all unfolding as we watched live on TV.
It was a very sombre Howard who spoke shortly after to our travelling press gallery media, gathered at a press conference at the Willard Hotel, just a few blocks from the White House in Washington.
A 60-metre gash exposes interior sections of the Pentagon following the 9/11 terror attack. Getty
He spoke of the tragic loss of life in New York, but the seriousness of the situation in DC changed rapidly as he was speaking.
The room we were in had a window with a clear view of the Pentagon.
The curtains were drawn to control the light while the prime minister spoke, but had they been open, we would have seen the third hijacked plane crash directly into the Pentagon building, right behind the prime minister at the lectern.
US Secret Service agents quickly rushed in and rushed the prime minister to a secure underground bunker at the Australian embassy, and our Australian media pack was evacuated to the same location about a kilometre away.
I just remember the absolute shock and confusion at what had occurred, and the gut-wrenching fear of now knowing what might be hit next.
As we saw the smoke billowing from the Pentagon and police and emergency sirens filled the air, crowds of people filled the streets trying to get to safety.
There was panic and tears as people tried to get through to their loved ones.
There were reports of bombs on subways, the White House being a target, explosions being heard in other parts of New York and DC.
We remained in the underground bunker at the Australian Embassy for hours, getting briefings from the prime minister and his staff, and I had to try to get my head around what was incomprehensible, to do my job and report on America now at war and under terrorist attack.
The Twin Towers in New York City burn after being struck on 9/11. AP
I spent the next few weeks covering the events in Washington, and not long after returning home to Australia was appointed US correspondent, giving me the privilege of bearing witness over the next three years to the enormous changes those attacks triggered in the US and around the world.
Twenty-five years ago - but in so many ways, it feels just like yesterday.
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