Kei Sugimoto uploaded his footage to YouTube on 23 July 2024
23 years ago, the world witnessed the aftermath of a terrorist attack which saw New York City’s World Trade Centre decimated.
The event saw 3,000 people die on 11 September 2001, which included both those on the ground trying to help casualties as well as occupants in the buildings.
Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers, with one famously collapsing and covering the city in debris and dust.
Horrifyingly, a lot of footage of the second plane’s crash was captured live on TV broadcasts, as well as terrifying footage of the aftermath.
However, not everything had been released to the public.
9/11 is a day that still holds a lot of pain for all (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A man who was there that fateful day has now released what he filmed, with many believing that it was from a previously ‘unseen angle’.
Kei Sugimoto uploaded his footage to YouTube on 23 July 2024 to share his original footage ‘from the roof of 64 St Marks Place in NYC on a Sony VX2000 with teleconverter’ on 11 September 2001.
He has since spoken about that moment where he originally thought there had been a fire in the building, but after seeing the second plane and its impact, realised what was going on.
“I had just assumed it was an accident and there was a fire,” the now-46-year-old recalled in an interview with LADbible.
“I did see the second plane impact, and that’s when I thought, okay, for sure, this is not just an accident. This is intentional. It’s a terrorist attack,” he said.
His video has since gone viral on the likes of X where users say it shows ‘new angles of the collapse’.
“This footage offers a unique perspective not seen from the south or east,” one said. “You are watching these angles for the first time ever.”
Sugimoto’s video shows the towers billowing out black smoke before each eventually collapsing to the ground.
Over on Reddit, users said: “It’s crazy that we’re almost 23 years out and still getting new footage.”Play
Another added: “Makes me wonder how much history is being stored in people’s attics or basements waiting to be unearthed.”
In the YouTube comments, Sugimoto explained further his decision to now release it after so long.
He wrote: “I was cleaning my closet and found boxes full of Hi-8, Digital-8, and DV tapes.
“When trying to play them back I noticed that maybe about a 3rd of them had demagnetized over time and were either blank, or suffering from major data corruption.
“After researching online I learned that video tapes are not immune from age even when stored in ideal conditions, so I franntially started to digitize them. Thus I’m just uploading the video now.”
He also added that while he did witness the second plane crash, he didn’t film it.
“If I remember correctly,” he wrote, “I think I ran to get my video camera after seeing the second plane crash sensing that this was no ordinary accident.”
Users thanked him for sharing the ‘unique perspective’ and called the ‘crystal clear’ footage ‘devastating’.Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ Kei Sugimoto
Topics: New York, News, US News, Terrorism, History
Britt Jones
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Updated 14:34 26 Jul 2024 GMT+1Published 13:21 26 Jul 2024 GMT+1
Man releases new footage of 9/11 after 23 years showing Twin Tower collapse from ‘unseen angle’
Kei Sugimoto recently found the footage he’d taken of the Twin Towers collapsing on 9/11
Warning: Contains content some readers may find distressing
Nearly 23 years ago, two planes crashed into New York City’s World Trade Centre in a tragic and infamous terrorist attack.
Almost 3,000 people died on 11 September 2001, with many more lives lost and affected in the aftermath of 9/11.
With much of the second plane’s crash was captured live on TV broadcasts, there has long been terrifying footage of the events that unfolded.
But it seems there are still videos yet to be shared as a man has now released what he filmed on that day over 22 years ago, with many saying this shows the collapse of the Twin Towers from an ‘unseen angle’.
The attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 shook the world when it happened (HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Kei Sugimoto took to YouTube earlier this week (23 July) to share his original footage ‘from the roof of 64 St Marks Place in NYC on a Sony VX2000 with teleconverter’ on 11 September 2001.
His video has since gone viral on the likes of X where users say it shows ‘new angles of the collapse’.
“This footage offers a unique perspective not seen from the south or east,” one said. “You are watching these angles for the first time ever.”
Sugimoto’s video shows the towers billowing out black smoke before each eventually collapsing to the ground.
The harrowing video shows the collapses. (YouTube/ Kei Sugimoto)
Over on Reddit, users said: “It’s crazy that we’re almost 23 years out and still getting new footage.”
While another added: “Makes me wonder how much history is being stored in people’s attics or basements waiting to be unearthed.”
In the YouTube comments, Sugimonto explained further his decision to now release it after so long.
He wrote: “I was cleaning my closet and found boxes full of Hi-8, Digital-8, and DV tapes.
“When trying to play them back I noticed that maybe about a 3rd of them had demagnetized over time and were either blank, or suffering from major data corruption.Play
“After researching online I learned that video tapes are not immune from age even when stored in ideal conditions, so I franntially started to digitize them. Thus I’m just uploading the video now.”
He also added that while he did witness the second plane crash, he didn’t film it.
“If I remember correctly,” he wrote, “I think I ran to get my video camera after seeing the second plane crash sensing that this was no ordinary accident.”
Users thanked him for sharing the ‘unique perspective’ and called the ‘crystal clear’ footage ‘devastating’.Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ Kei Sugimoto
Topics: New York, History, US News, World News, YouTube
Jess Battison
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Updated 20:24 31 Jul 2024 GMT+1Published 20:15 31 Jul 2024 GMT+1
Man who shared new 9/11 footage after 23 years from ‘unseen angle’ explains what it was like to witness the atrocity
Kei Sugimoto was 24 years old when he witnessed one of the biggest events of modern history
Warning: Article contains content some readers may find distressing
On the morning of 11 September, 2001 Kei Sugimoto had woken up to move his car in order to avoid a fine from New York City’s street cleaners.
After leaving his apartment and walking towards his car, Kei – who was 24 years old at the time – would instead be greeted not by the usual hubbub of New York traffic but instead crowds of people stood in the roads and staring at the same direction.
They had just witnessed the first of two terror attacks on the most recognisable buildings of the New York City skyline.
Nowadays the events of 9/11 are well drilled into our heads, four planes were hijacked by the al-Qaeda terror group and flown into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania (the target had been the White House or the US Capitol building).
The attacks took the lives of nearly 3,000 people, with an estimated between 6,000 and 25,000 extra people being injured and resulted in the ongoing War on Terror, which has claimed the lives of millions more in the decades since.
The events of 9/11 changed the course of US history forever. (HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
However on the morning of 11 September no one could foresee how millions of lives across the globe were about the altered forever. In fact, not everyone was aware a terrorist attack had even happened.
Waking up just after the first plane hit the North Tower, Kei, now 46, originally thought there had been a fire in the building.
“I had just assumed it was an accident and there was a fire,” he recalled in an interview with LADbible, adding that he’d only gone to the roof of his apartment because he’d never witnessed a skyscraper on fire before.
This hypothesis would be shattered just over 15 minutes later when a second plane collided with the buildings, leaving no doubt in Kei’s mind that something more serious was taking place.
“I did see the second plane impact, and that’s when I thought, okay, for sure, this is not just an accident. This is intentional. It’s a terrorist attack,” he said.
It was at this point that he ran back to his apartment to grab his recording equipment and begin documenting history.Play
As a small crowd began to gather on the roof, rumours spread among the building’s residents about further attacks on the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building, while others worried about rumours about bridges and tunnels to the city being closed off.
There was also concern about the smoke coming from the building, and for good cause, as residents in the vicinity of the towers would later develop respiratory issues due to asbestos and other carcinogenic materials used in the construction of the towers. Kei even recalls hearing about relatives of friends who lived in Chinatown dying to complications of ‘inhaling too much asbestos’.
After around an hour of being stood on the roof Kei saw the towers collapse, something which he thought would never happen.
“When the towers collapsed, I thought it was unbelievable,” he said, adding that he thought authorities had been able to evacuate everyone inside.
“I assumed that people had been evacuated,” he said. “It had been a pretty long time… So I had assumed everyone had already evacuated.”
Revisiting the footage nearly 23 years later, Kei admitted it was ‘shocking’ and ‘a little traumatising’ to see again.
However he felt that – now he had the means to – the most important thing to do was to upload the video and ‘preserve history’.
Kei did reveal he’d had to re-upload a video due to a barrage of conspiracy theorists in the comments, however the responses have been ‘largely positive’ with many commenters recalling their own experience from the day and thanking him for sharing the footage.
Kei began uploading the footage to YouTube after deciding to digitise his old video tapes. (YouTube/@Kei Sugimoto)
“I did have second thoughts of uploading this to YouTube. But then again, I did think that I should from a historical archiving perspective,” he told LADbible.
“My grandparents lived through World War Two. And they told me a lot of stories before they died, maybe that has something to do with how I think that regardless of if it’s good news or bad news, it’s important to preserve history.”Featured Image Credit: YouTube/@Kei Sugimoto
Topics: New York, YouTube, History
Brenna Cooper
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Published 20:27 11 Sep 2024 GMT+1
Man who shared new footage of 9/11 from ‘unseen angle’ explains what it was like to witness the atrocity
Kei Sugimoto revealed what it was like to document one of the most tragic moments in history
Warning: This article contains content some readers may find distressing
It has been exactly 23 years since the horrific events of 9/11 unfolded in New York City, changing the world forever.
Many managed to capture and document this painful point in history, showcasing just how scarring it was for those looking on in the US in particular.
Unseen 9/11 Footage Shows Shop Owner Saving Woman’s Life From Deadly Wall Of Dust
Credit: Reddit/u/PigParkerPt2
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One of these individuals was Kei Sugimoto, who had gone to move his car so he wouldn’t be fined by New York City’s street cleaners.
Then 24, Kei didn’t walk out to the usual hustle and bustle of the Big Apple’s traffic, and instead saw hundreds of people standing in the roads and looking towards Lower Manhattan.
It turns out that the crowd was witnessing the biggest terrorist attack in world history, on one of the most recognisable skyscrapers in the New York skyline.
We now know what happened, as four planes were hijacked by terror group al-Qaeda and flown into the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia and a field in Pennsylvania (the target had been the White House or the US Capitol building).
It has been 23 years since one of the world’s most devastating terror attacks took place (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The attacks took the likes of 2,977 innocent people, with an estimated between 6,000 and 25,000 extra people being injured and resulted in the ongoing War on Terror, which has claimed the lives of millions more in the decades since.
However, on the morning of 11 September 2001, no-one could foresee how millions of lives across the globe were about to be altered forever. In fact, not everyone was aware a terrorist attack had even happened.
Waking up just after the first plane hit the North Tower, Kei, now 46, originally thought there had been a fire in the building.
“I had just assumed it was an accident and there was a fire,” he recalled in an interview with LADbible, adding that he’d only gone to the roof of his apartment because he’d never witnessed a skyscraper on fire before.
This hypothesis would be shattered just over 15 minutes later when a second plane collided with the buildings, leaving no doubt in Kei’s mind that something more serious was taking place.
The events of 9/11 changed the course of US history forever (HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I did see the second plane impact, and that’s when I thought, okay, for sure, this is not just an accident. This is intentional. It’s a terrorist attack,” he said.
It was at this point that he ran back to his apartment to grab his recording equipment and begin documenting history.
As a small crowd began to gather on the roof, rumours spread among the building’s residents about further attacks on the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building, while others worried about rumours about bridges and tunnels to the city being closed off.
There was also concern about the smoke coming from the building, and for good cause, as residents in the vicinity of the towers would later develop respiratory issues due to asbestos and other carcinogenic materials used in the construction of the towers.Play
Kei even recalled hearing about relatives of friends who lived in Chinatown dying to complications of ‘inhaling too much asbestos’.
After around an hour of being stood on the roof Kei saw the towers collapse, something which he thought would never happen.
“When the towers collapsed, I thought it was unbelievable,” he said, adding that he thought authorities had been able to evacuate everyone inside.
“I assumed that people had been evacuated,” he said. “It had been a pretty long time… So I had assumed everyone had already evacuated.”
Revisiting the footage, Kei admitted it was ‘shocking’ and ‘a little traumatising’ to see again.
Footage uploaded by Kei to YouTube has allowed viewers to see another perspective of the attacks (YouTube/ @Kei Sugimoto)
However he felt that – now he had the means to – the most important thing to do was to upload the video and ‘preserve history’.
Kei did reveal he’d had to re-upload a video due to a barrage of conspiracy theorists in the comments, however the responses have been ‘largely positive’ with many commenters recalling their own experience from the day and thanking him for sharing the footage.
“I did have second thoughts of uploading this to YouTube. But then again, I did think that I should from a historical archiving perspective,” he told LADbible.
“My grandparents lived through World War Two. And they told me a lot of stories before they died, maybe that has something to do with how I think that regardless of if it’s good news or bad news, it’s important to preserve history.”Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Kei Sugimoto
Topics: Terrorism, World News, History, US News
Joshua Nair
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Updated 18:33 11 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 14:57 11 Sep 2024 GMT+1
NASA shares heartbreaking letter from only American not on Earth during 9/11 who watched on from space
Frank Culbertson shared his thoughts after he was forced to watch the tragedy from the International Space Station
NASA has shared an astronaut’s heartbreaking reaction after he was forced to witness 9/11 250 miles above the Earth’s surface.
It’s been exactly 23 years since the tragic attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia, USA where 2,977 people died, both in the planes and on the ground, including those from emergency services.
It is the single most deadly terrorist attack in world history, as several thousands more were injured in the aftermath, but one man was left helpless and stranded, hundreds of kilometres in the sky.
Astronaut saw 9/11 from space
Credit: Channel 4/NASA/@footage_of_the_wtc
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American astronaut Frank Culbertson was onboard the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts, an estimated 250 miles (400km) from the Earth’s surface, where he was forced to watch the tragedy unfold in front of his very eyes.
He witnessed the South Tower collapse from space, after he noticed a dark gust of smoke coming from New York City, in a video that is far more chilling than any footage caught on the ground.
The astronaut previously spoke about the experience in a 2014 documentary titled Astronauts: Houston We Have a Problem, where he recalled: “I raced around and found a video camera and a window facing in the right direction.
“The weather was perfectly clear that day. I could easily see New York City – a big black column of smoke coming out of the city, and as I zoomed in with the video camera, I could see this big grey blob enveloping southern Manhattan.”
He then eerily revealed: “What we were seeing was the second tower coming down.”
However, NASA have now shared a letter from Culbertson that was written over the hours and days following the attack.
On Tuesday (10 September) this week, the space agency stated: “The following is the text of a letter from Expedition Three Commander Frank L. Culbertson (Captain, USN Retired), reflecting on the events of September 11.”
The letter looked at the astronaut’s reaction after learning about the attack and how he dealt with his emotions afterwards.
The astronaut caught a haunting sight on film (SWNS)
The 75-year-old wrote: “Well, obviously the world changed today. The flight surgeon told me they were having a very bad day on the ground. I had no idea…
“He described the situation to me as best he knew it at ~0900 CDT. I was flabbergasted, then horrified. My first thought was that this wasn’t a real conversation, that I was still listening to one of my Tom Clancy tapes.
“It just didn’t seem possible on this scale in our country. I couldn’t even imagine the particulars, even before the news of further destruction began coming in.
“I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera. It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of Michael’s (Mikhail Tyurin, Russian flight engineer) cabin.”
Culbertson went on to expand on how the cloud of smoke looked from 250 miles in the sky, detailing: “The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city.
“After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…
“It’s difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming.”
The International Space Station was still under construction as he was onboard (SWNS)
The astronaut then summed up the effects that the attack would probably have: “I know that we are on the threshold (or beyond) of a terrible shift in the history of the world.
“Many things will never be the same again after September 11, 2001. Not just for the thousands and thousands of people directly affected by these horrendous acts of terrorism, but probably for all of us.
“We will find ourselves feeling differently about dozens of things, including probably space exploration, unfortunately.
“It’s horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point.
“Other than the emotional impact of our country being attacked and thousands of our citizens and maybe some friends being killed, the most overwhelming feeling being where I am is one of isolation.”
Culbertson also later found out that the plane that struck the Pentagon was originally piloted by his Naval Academy classmate Charles Burlingame, and performed an emotional rendition of ‘Taps’, a bugle call that signals ‘lights out’ at the end of a military day, during memorial ceremonies, or during military funerals.