NEW YORK - CBS television will air a highly sought-after video of firefighters mounting a heroic rescue effort inside the World Trade Centre's North Tower before it collapsed on September 11, the network said today.
The broadcast, set to air March 10, includes 45 minutes of footage shot inside the North Tower by French brothers Gedeon and Jules Naudet, who also captured footage of the first plane to hit the towers while they were in downtown Manhattan filming a documentary on the life of a New York fireman.
"It's an amazing chronicle of history from a perspective nobody has seen," Susan Zirinsky, CBS executive in charge of the special, said of the video.
In January, The New York Times described the Naudet's tape as "raw" and "an extraordinary view of history at the moment that it happens".
The tapes show firefighters calmly setting up a command post inside the North Tower, even as their faces filled with fear. As the South Tower collapses, the picture grows murky and "the images seem as if they are underwater," wrote the Times. The only sounds are radio squawk and screams.
Gedeon and Jules Naudet, 31 and 28 respectively, were studying at New York University's film school. In May 2001, they began documenting the life of a New York City firefighter, stationed downtown as part of Engine Co. No. 7, Ladder No. 1.
On September 11, they were with firefighters investigating a gas leak when they heard an airplane roar overhead, panned up and captured images of the first plane to hit the towers.
Along with the firefighters, the Naudets raced to a staging area in the North Tower where the rescue effort was underway.
Their story will be broadcast in the two-hour CBS special, beginning on March 10.
The Naudets are donating proceeds from the project to the Uniformed Firefighters Association Scholarship Fund for the families of firefighters.
- REUTERS
Story archives:
Links: Terror in America - the Sept 11 attacks
Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
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