Society

Summer 2001. Kei Sugimoto, a 24-year old Japanese young man, is about to experience one of the most traumatic events of his life.

The World Trade Center was engulfed in flames, police sirens were blaring over Manhattan, until the Twin Towers disappeared beneath thick black smoke. Kei Sugimoto captured the scene, as did hundreds of other tourists, locals and residents, with no real grasp of what was happening right there in front of their eyes. The darkest terrorist attack of the early 21st century has just resurfaced on Youtube, on the channel of the Japanese man, on vacation in New York at the time.

A short, then long version

From 6 minutes to 57 minutes of horror. Kei Sugimoto, in the video's description, states: "Images I filmed of the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Filmed from the roof of 64 St Marks Place in New York using a Sony VX2000 equipped with a teleconverter. For historical archiving purposes only." The young tourist offers from this location an unprecedented perspective on the tragedy.

As the images resurface, one wonders about the necessity of private archives, in an age where visuals are sometimes revered over written statements. As the Belgian media RTBF points out, Kei Sugimoto could encourage other owners of such recordings to share their documents, and thus deliver precious testimonies, imprints of our history.

(AsD - Source: RTBF - Photo: Pixabay)

???????? New images of the collapse of the WTC on 9/11 appear after 23 years.
Kei Sugimoto, 24 at the time, captured the collapse of the World Trade Center on a Sony VX2000. Recently posted on his YouTube channel, this footage offers a unique perspective,... pic.twitter.com/MKpvz0RFCz

— Pascal Laurent (@Pascal_Laurent_) July 25, 2024