Portuguese survivor recounts escape from World Trade Center
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Joe Salgado, a Portuguese citizen working on the 47th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, survived the September 11th attacks.
He arrived at work early that day and began a meeting when the first plane struck the building. He and his colleagues started down the stairs, and upon reaching the 22nd floor, they heard the impact of the second plane hitting the South Tower.
When they reached the ground floor, Salgado and three coworkers turned right while four others turned left. Salgado does not know why he made that decision, but the four who went left did not survive. He ran with the others to Brooklyn, receiving water from a firefighter along the way, and eventually contacted his family to let them know he was alive. He was then transported to New Jersey by a passing vehicle.
Salgado still meets annually with surviving colleagues from that day and has visited the Ground Zero memorial on several occasions. He notes that 13 of his friends have since passed away. In Newark, New Jersey, a community with many Portuguese speakers, police captain Maik Alexandre remembers responding to the attacks, repeatedly transporting ambulances to nearby hospitals. He recalls the pervasive smell of burning and the faint beeping of firefighters’ radios amidst the rubble, signalling distress.
The names of 2,983 victims, including nine Portuguese citizens, are engraved on the memorial at the site.
