Are you that desperate to believe in a conspiracy that you ignore the facts?
Voices from the grave Life-and-death tapes of 9/11
Adam Harvey
18 August 2006
Copyright 2006 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
New York
ALMOST five years since the September 11 terror attacks, newly released tapes of phone calls made from the World Trade Centre detail the valiant efforts of firefighters and dispatchers.
The tapes should have been released last year but were withheld because of an administrative error.
In one 20-minute conversation, a 911 operator tries to comfort a young woman, Melissa Doi, trapped on the 83rd floor of the south tower.
"I know you're in a bad situation, but you're going to be fine," says the operator.
Ms Doi and four co-workers are lying on the floor of a smoke-filled room. They can't see anything through the smoke.
"It's very, very, very, very hot," says Ms Doi. "I'm going to die," she screams.
"No, no, no," soothes the operator. "Say your prayers, got to think positive. You've got to stay calm."
She tells Ms Doi that firefighters are on their way, and at one point Ms Doi thinks she hears someone coming and screams for help.
Later, a soft-spoken Ms Doi asks the operator "Can you stay on the line with me, please? I feel like I'm dying", and then asks her to call her mother before she eventually loses consciousness.
The line falls silent but the operator thinks Ms Doi is alive because she can hear her snoring.
"Not dead, not dead. They sound like deep sleep," says the operator. Ms Doi's was the only civilian voice heard in yesterday's tapes.
Authorities have allowed the unedited release of her tape because it was used as evidence during the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. But the voices of other workers have been muted out so as to not upset their families.
About a dozen family members of 9/11 victims were on hand to hear the tapes, which again raised questions about the lack of communication on the scene.
The calls included 10 previously unreleased calls to emergency operators from people trapped in the towers. Three hundred and forty-three firefighters died.
The voices of the firefighters, however, can be heard loud and clear.
In one call, Battalion Chief Dennis Devlin calls in from the south tower to ask for a rundown of crews sent up the stairwell. "We're in a state of confusion," Chief Devlin said, standing inside a command post at the trade centre.
"We have no cell phone service anywhere because of the disaster . . . bring all the additional handy talkies."
He was among the victims.
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