The great boat lift of 9/11

[brooklynite]

NJ.com

Thousands lost their lives in the tragedy of 9/11. Trapped in the burning towers of the World Trade Center, there would be no escape when the two tall buildings collapsed at the tip of lower Manhattan. But for thousands of others, caught between the river and a scene of Armageddon, salvation came in the form of a waterborne rescue, called the largest maritime evacuation in modern history.

“In the beginning, people were running like ants off the end (of the city) into the water,” said James Schneider, the captain of a fishing boat from Long Island who manned a makeshift ferry route from Manhattan to Queens that day.

The rescue effort started minutes after the first plane struck the north tower at 8:46 a.m. and ended nine hours later.

In between, the maritime community would rescue and transport an estimated 400,000 people off the island of Manhattan to New Jersey and elsewhere.

[crickets]

1. Incredible.

This is one aspect of that day that I never knew about. What a heroic response from all involved.

[crickets]

2. Linked in the article: BOATLIFT - An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience

12 minutes, narrated by Tom Hanks.

The great boatlift of 9/11 became the largest sea evacuation in history, larger than the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II where 339,000 British and French soldiers were rescued over the course of nine days. On 9/11, nearly 500,000 civilians were rescued from Manhattan by boat. It took less than nine hours.

[Hekate]

3. Incredible indeed