Tower Terror

A murderous explosion in the heart of New York City raises the specter of terrorism in America and sets off a feverish hunt for the bomber

By Richard Lacayo Monday, Mar. 08, 1993

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    Because of their trouble getting to the "blast seat" in the dangerously crumbling underground garage, investigators could not even confirm to their complete satisfaction what had caused the explosion. But its size and intense heat suggested a bomb, as did traces of nitrate found at the edges of the blast crater. Until they could determine otherwise, informed experts assumed that hundreds of pounds of high explosives had been packed into a car or van that was left at a four-level underground parking garage. The garage is situated below the Trade Center plaza and near a station of the PATH commuter subway line that links Manhattan and New Jersey.

    The Trade Center is not a surprising target. In the early 1970s CIA agents compiled a list of potentially vulnerable sites that they believed might make high-value terrorist strike points. Near the top of that list, former deputy CIA director Bobby Inman told TIME, was the World Trade Center. "When the people responsible for anticipating terrorist attacks began to run scenarios on this kind of thing, this was one of the places." Why? "Because of the number of victims who would be involved," said Inman. The information raises questions about what kind of extra precaution the Port Authority might have taken in light of the building's tantalizing vulnerability.

    The bomb blew out a crater 200 ft. by 100 ft. wide and five stories deep. Floors collapsed onto one another with an impact that caused the ceiling of the PATH station nearby to come crashing down, showering chunks of concrete onto commuters waiting on the platform. In the same moment, the 110-story Twin Towers swayed visibly as the force of the blast shuddered upward. Lobby windows exploded onto the plaza and marble slabs fell from the walls. As fractured steam pipes launched jets of hot mist into the air, the first victims stumbled out of the buildings, bloodied and in shock.

    Fires quickly broke out, launching thick, acrid smoke up hundreds of stairwells and elevator banks. In both towers the electricity went out, including emergency backup systems. Even on the highest floors, workers were stunned by the speed at which smoke flew upward. David Deshane, 25, was on the 105th floor when he felt the explosion. "All the computers shut down, then all the phones shut down," he said. "Then all of a sudden we saw smoke ( everywhere." He ran to hit the fire-emergency button. "Nothing happened." In a panic, some people broke windows to admit air, sending daggers of glass raining onto the crowds below and creating a chimney effect that drew smoke upward even more quickly.

    Four of the dead were Port Authority workers, whose offices and locker rooms were located on the lower levels that sustained the worst damage. More than 24 hours after the blast, two other workers were still missing. But the toll was less severe than first feared. Though some suffered major injuries, most of the victims were treated for smoke inhalation or minor burns.

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