The last survivor rescued from the World Trade Center rubble on 9/11 was Genelle Guzman-McMillan, who spent 27 hours trapped after the North Tower collapsed, surviving with severe injuries before being pulled out alive, symbolizing incredible resilience. Her story highlights the immense rescue efforts and the miraculous survival of many, though others succumbed to their injuries later, like Alfred Joseph from the South Tower.
Genelle Guzman-McMillan was trapped under the rubble of the Twin Towers for 27 hours. She is the last survivor rescued from Ground Zero. The now 54-year-old shared her powerful survival story at Camden County College on the anniversary of 9/11.
Four people who were in the concourse area between the Twin Towers survived and either saved themselves or were rescued. Only one person who was in the South Tower at the time of its collapse survived. Alfred Joseph worked on the 44th floor and was found, eventually dying from a heart attack on January 1, 2002.
In total, twenty survivors were pulled out of the rubble. The final survivor, Port Authority secretary Genelle Guzman-McMillan, was rescued 27 hours after the collapse of the North Tower.
What's the highest floor someone survived on 9/11?
Ronald DiFrancesco climbed from 84th to 91st floor, then descended and became the last one out. No one on a higher floor survived. Below 59th floor, everyone got out safely. Four people, including DiFrancesco, from 81st floor or higher used smoky but unblocked Stairway A to escape.
At two and a half years old, Christine Lee Hanson was the youngest of the eight children who were killed on 9/11, all passengers aboard the aircraft commandeered by terrorists.
Eight children were among the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks, all of whom were passengers on the hijacked planes, including a 2.5-year-old and several 11-year-olds on a school trip, with many more children tragically losing a parent that day.
In fact, some celebrities narrowly avoided death on 9/11. For example, Gabourey Sidibe was supposed to be in class nearby but overslept, Rob Lowe was on a test-run with the terrorists weeks before, and Olympian Ian Thorpe was heading back to the WTC to play tourist that morning.
On September 11, 2001, NYPD helicopters flew around the Twin Towers searching for survivors on the rooftops. They hoped to rescue people trapped above the fire, but intense smoke, extreme heat, and locked roof doors made it impossible.
The survivors' stories reveal just how narrow their path to safety was: Ten people escaped from the crowded 78th-floor elevator lobby, where hundreds perished in the explosion. Two employees from Fuji Bank on the 81st floor survived because the elevator machine room separated them from the crash.
After 24 years, the NYC medical examiner still works to identify 9/11 victims 1,100 people killed on 9/11 in New York City have not had any of their remains identified by authorities.
That group would all lose their lives that day, as access doors to the roof were locked, and there were no plans for helicopter rescues from the roof, as the NYPD deemed it too unsafe to attempt due to dense clouds of smoke and rooftop antennas.
They often went where humans could not go. The last living person rescued from Ground Zero 27 hours after the collapse of the towers was found by one of the search and rescue dogs.
Who was the last person pulled out of Ground Zero?
Last survivor pulled from rubble on 9/11 shared her story at Camden County College. Genelle Guzman-McMillan went to work on the 64th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001, unaware her life was about to change forever.
Genelle Guzman-McMillan was the last person found alive in the rubble of the World Trade Center. She went to work on September 11, 2001 on the 64th floor. When the towers came down she was buried for 27 hours, longer than any other person.
(From left) Diane Keaton, Pope Francis, Roberta Flack and Robert Redford were among the notable people who passed away in 2025. In the realms of global affairs and politics, the passing of Pope Francis in April was a major loss.
The mission failed when the passengers fought back, forcing the terrorists to crash the plane in Shanksville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, preventing them from reaching Al-Qaeda's intended target, but killing everyone aboard the flight.
At two and a half years old, Christine Lee Hanson was the youngest of the eight children who were killed on 9/11, all passengers aboard the aircraft commandeered by terrorists.
As of the end of 2024, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has paid out almost $14.9 billion dollars, in total, to 9/11 victims and their families. In the earliest years of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, payouts ranged from $500 to $8.6 million.
United Flight 175 departed from Boston's Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles but was redirected by hijackers to New York City, where the aircraft was crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Among the passengers were three very young children.
The attacks killed 2,976 people and injured thousands more. Today, many first responders are still dealing with adverse health effects from working in toxic conditions. Immediately after the attacks, the FBI's top job was to identify the attackers and prevent another incident.
