What was the rescue and recovery operation like?
A nine-month rescue and recovery operation followed, which included round-the-clock participation by thousands of civilians and city, state, and federal officials, overseen by New York City’s Design and Construction Agency. Of the unknown number of people who initially survived the collapse of the towers, approximately 20 were rescued or able to extricate themselves from the debris field. The last survivor found at the site was discovered just after 12:30 p.m. on September 12. Tens of thousands of volunteers came from near and far to provide continuous support for the recovery teams. The Pentagon recovery took approximately two months and reconstruction of the damaged section was completed by September 2002.
