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This Tuesday it is the 20th anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York on February 26, 1993 at 12:17 p.m. in the parking lot of the North Tower (Tower 1).
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The location of the explosion was located in the basement under building 5 of the complex.
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The bomb: A truck carrying 680 kilograms of eplosives inside.
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The attempt, which had as its goal to devastate the foundation of the North Tower to cause it to fall on the South Tower failed, though it still produced six deaths and 1,042 injuries.
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The explosion left a crater with a diameter 30 meters and 60 meters deep, causing a fire and panic among the citizens.
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Six Islamist extremists, including the intellectual author Ramzi Yousef, were declared guilty of the explosion.
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This Tuesday there was a ceremony to honor the six people killed 20 years ago. The act was celebrated at the monument for the victims of the 9/11 attacks, which destroyed the Twin Towers.
Photo: AP
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It was the first dramatic proof that "terrorism is a theater and New York is its biggest stage, said police commissioner Raymond Kelly this week.
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During the ceremony at the monument, the attendants had a moment of silence at 12:18 p.m., when the van charged with explosives went off under the North Tower. Photo: AP -
At first, the authorities believed it had been an accident due to the increment weather.
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Kelly immediately rushed to the scene, where the explosion from the service van rented from Ryder left a crated half the size of a football field in the parking lot and caused damage worth more than 500 million dollars.
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"I remember seeing a sea of vehicles rush to the emergency and smoke coming out," said Kelly who was serving his first term as police commissioner.
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The World Trade center was left in darkness that night for the first time since its inauguration in 1973.
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"It was not until the next day, after dismissing it as an electric accident, that the authorities began to realize it was a bomb," said Kelly.
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The investigators where able to find an identification number in the fragments of the destroyed vehicle which lead them to Mohamed Salameh, who had rented the unit.
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Regardless, destiny still had other plans for the World Trade Center, which was destroyed during the 2001 attacks that left 2,700 people dead.
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This Tuesday it is the 20th anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York on February 26, 1993 at 12:17 p.m. in the parking lot of the North Tower (Tower 1).
