US Capital under Siege

A plane crashed into the Pentagon at 9:30 am on Tuesday, 11 September 2001, setting off a huge explosion, and prompting the immediate evacuation of the American military headquarters. A section of the large five-story, five-sided building collapsed and burned under the force of the plane's impact, sending up a thick cloud of gray smoke over Washington.

There was no immediate word on the extent of casualties, but the plane hit the southwestern side of the building during busy morning working hours in an area containing offices of the Marine Corps Aviation as well as Army and Navy offices.

Immediately after the thunderous impact of the crash, blue and white alarm lights and wailing sirens drove the more than 20,000 civilians and military men and women who work in the Pentagon into the surrounding parking lots. Warnings were broadcast of a reported second plane approaching the building, prompting people to flee to nearby highways. No second airplane came.

The Pentagon, a major symbol of US military power, stands near the Potomac River, just across from Washington's national memorials and near the Washington National Airport.

A Government on Alert

"It's clear that this is terrorist-related, we're not sure who is responsible," said one Pentagon official. "There was no advance warning of this," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Government officials have denounced the attacks in New York and Washington as an act of war which the United States must avenge. The United States has not yet accused any organization of orchestrating the attack. And no group has claimed responsibility. Reports linking the attacks with the Saudi Arabian terrorist Osama bin Laden have not yet been confirmed by the government.

In the meantime, all government buildings including the White House, the Capitol and the CIA have been evacuated. Military bases in the United Sates and abroad are on the highest security level. Even American tourists traveling overseas have been warned to keep a low profile.

National Security Advisors and the Vice-President are meeting in the basement of the White House. President George W. Bush, who was not in the city at the time, addressed the nation from an Air Force base in Louisiana. He and other high-ranking US officials are keeping a low profile. Numerous US Congressional leaders have left the capitol for undisclosed locations.

He called the deliberate aerial assaults an "apparent terrorist attack", and ordered a full-scale investigation. He vowed that the US would put all its efforts into "hunting" down the terrorists responsible for the tragedy.

Rescue Efforts Underway

Shortly after the crash, rescue teams converged on the Pentagon. A fire truck poured water into the charred section to douse the flames. Ambulances and trauma experts arrived from the nearby Walter Reed Army Hospital.

Even three hours after the crash, the fire was still too intense for rescue teams to enter the building and look for casualties. About 25 men and women nonetheless marched past security lines after volunteering to bring out victims from the collapsed building.

Arlington County, Virginia, firefighter Derek Spector, head of the first unit to arrive on the scene reported that the "whole side of the building was in flames. It's terrible in there. But we didn't come across any casualties."

Throughout the day area hospital emergency rooms will be on maximum alert with their trauma teams. "All hospitals are in their emergency response mode and they are all prepared to receive victims transported to them," said Robert Malson, president of the D.C. Hospital Association.

By early afternoon, downtown Washington was a ghost town. Shops, banks and other businesses closed early, and sidewalks were eerily quiet after people heeded a call from Washington's mayor to stay off the streets.