19 years of September 11 attacks | Visuals from the unfortunate day that changed the world as we know it

On September 11, 2001, militants associated with Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes crashed two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, third plane hit the Pentagon and the fourth flight crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Some passengers and crew members who called from the aircraft using the cabin air phone service and mobile phones provided details of several hijackers who were aboard on each plane. (Image: Reuters)

The attack resulted in deaths of around 3,000 people. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters who rushed to the scene of the attacks were killed. Not a single person of many who were aboard on those four planes survived the attack. The destruction of the World Trade Center and nearby infrastructure seriously harmed the economy of New York City and had a significant effect on global markets. (Image: Reuters)

Large planes with long flights were selected for hijacking because they would be full of fuel. The first flight, American Airlines Flight 11: a Boeing 767 aircraft, departed Logan Airport at 7:59 a.m. en route to Los Angeles. The hijackers flew the plane into the northern facade of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m. (Image: Reuters)

The second flight, United Airlines Flight 175: a Boeing 767 aircraft, departed Logan Airport at 8:14 a.m. en route to Los Angeles. The hijackers flew the plane into the southern facade of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 9:03 a.m. (Image: Reuters)

Third one, American Airlines Flight 77: a Boeing 757 aircraft, departed Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m. en route to Los Angeles. The hijackers flew the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, at 9:37 a.m. (Image: Reuters)

And the fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93: a Boeing 757 aircraft, departed Newark International Airport at 8:42 a.m. en route to San Francisco. As passengers attempted to subdue the hijackers, the aircraft crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m. Investigators head into the debris field at the site of a commercial plane crash near Shanksville, September 11, 2001. (Image: Reuters)

Along with the 110-floor Twin Towers, numerous other buildings at the World Trade Center site were destroyed or badly damaged, including WTC buildings 3 through 7 and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. (Image: Reuters)

The Pentagon was severely damaged by the impact of American Airlines Flight 77 and ensuing fires, causing one section of the building to collapse. (Image: Reuters)

Hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic debris containing more than 2,500 contaminants, including known carcinogens, were spread across Lower Manhattan due to the collapse of the Twin Towers. Exposure to the toxins in the debris is alleged to have contributed to fatal or debilitating illnesses among people who were at Ground Zero. (Image: Reuters)

The anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington will echo with silence for the moments the planes struck and when the buildings fell, and the reading of victims' names.

The ‘Tribute In Light’ shines above the skyline of lower Manhattan on the eve of the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S., September 10, 2020. The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States. (Image: Reuters)