"I should never have survived that day" - North Yorkshire filmmaker who escaped Twin Towers collapse
Paul Berriff, who lives in North Yorkshire, was stood metres away from the World Trade Center as it collapsed
Last updated 9th Sep 2021
A filmmaker living in North Yorkshire has said he "never should've survived" on the day of 9/11, as he stood just metres away from the World Trade Center as it collapsed.
Paul Berriff was filming a documentary in New York in September 2001 and was staying just blocks away from the World Trade Center.
When he heard the news of the first plane hitting the first tower, he and his crew rushed to the scene to interview fire fighters.
Mr Berriff said he heard a "roar like a dozen 747 jets" as he panned his camera up to catch the south tower collapse before him.
He said: "As we were running I kept the camera over my left shoulder and it was filming what was coming. I could hear this terrific roar, like a dozen 747 jets.
"Everything was completely black, my mouth was completely full of gunge and in my eyes, my nose, my ears. I could hardly breathe and I was pulling all this cement like paste out of my mouth."
Mr Berriff was knocked unconscious for around 30 minutes, by which time the second tower had also collapsed on top of him.
He said he'd experience plenty of "near death experiences" in his work, including a helicopter crash and a volcano eruption, but at that moment he felt "that was the end."
He added: "I was climbing over the smashed cars and it was like somebody had a box of kids toys and tipped them all in a pile. Stuff was still falling and I couldn't see anyone around.
"When the building is coming down and you're running down the street, you have no time to think about that you just go.
"There were about 20 fire fighters with us on that street and I think only six of us survived and it depended on which way down the street you ran.
"When I learned of how many people had died I thought I was so, so lucky. I should never have survived standing where I was. I was literally under the tower and to get away with your life in that situation is just a miracle.
"I really shouldn't be here telling this story."
After Mr Berriff had recovered from his head injuries, he and his wife flew back to the UK but two weeks later he was back in New York filming a film with the firemen he met on that day.
But 20 years on, he tells us he still remembers every detail: “I'll never forget that day and I'll never stop telling the story of that day. It should never be forgotten."