Three veteran reporters from the Daily Mail have shared their recollections of covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent global events in a recent episode of the publication's Deep Dive podcast. The episode, released in observance of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, features unique perspectives from journalists who were either on the ground in New York or in the newsroom managing the unfolding crisis.
Sarah Chalmers, the Daily Mail's sole reporter in New York City on the day of the attacks, described the immediate chaos and disbelief as planes struck the Twin Towers. "I remember standing, watching the telly in our tiny office," Chalmers said on the podcast. "I was looking at this reporter and behind his head, you could see a plane flying in at an angle towards the south Tower. I remember thinking, it's going to hit it."
She recalled the scene of disoriented, ash-covered civilians fleeing the area, noting that many walked for hours to reach safety as bridges and tunnels were shut down. Chalmers spent the night near the World Trade Center site, describing the deafening noise and constant light from the wreckage, which led her to fear for her life. "I thought we're all going to die. I am 3,000 miles from everybody I love and we're all going to die here," she recalled.
The morning after the towers fell, Chalmers approached Ground Zero, witnessing what she described as a "horrific sight" of dust and rubble. She observed rescue efforts, with emergency personnel and medical teams working amidst the debris. However, she noted the growing realization that hopes of finding survivors were fading. "These medics would appear in sort of hazmat suits, covered from head to toe in dust, with the most haunted look in their eyes," Chalmers recounted. "One after another, they came through and would shake their heads and just say: 'There's nobody, there's nobody.'"
Former Chief Reporter David Williams was in the London newsroom on September 11, 2001, and later spent four months in Afghanistan covering the initial stages of the U.S.-led invasion in pursuit of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the attacks.
Stephen Wright, formerly the Chief Crime Correspondent, traveled to New York on one of the first flights from Heathrow after the attacks. His reporting career was significantly influenced by the subsequent era of heightened security and counter-terrorism measures that followed the events of 9/11.
The podcast episode also features a minute-by-minute account of the 9/11 attacks narrated by broadcaster Michael Buerk. The full interviews with Chalmers, Williams, and Wright are available on the Deep Dive podcast, accessible on all major podcast platforms.