Karlie Rogers, 26, Was One Of The 67 British Passengers Shot Down on September 11, 2001
On September 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four commercial airplanes and used them to strike an attack against key US landmarks orchestrated by Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda organization. These attacks caused irrevocable changes around the globe – not least the 20-year war in Afghanistan – but they were particularly devastating to Britain with 2,977 lives lost at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan and 40 killed near Shanksville Pennsylvania when American Airlines Flight 77 collided with the Pentagon; of these deaths at WTC alone 67 were British nationals!
Karlie Rogers, 26, an sponsorship manager from London was among them. On that Tuesday morning in New York she arrived early at her North Tower work and delighted in taking in the stunning Manhattan sky as she crossed through its plaza and entered her building.
Keith recalls her passing: “She had so much more life to live at 26. A life which should have been full of adventure, love, laughter and fun – one which would surely include little footsteps thumping along a trail. Definitely full of pattering of small feet.”
After 9/11 it quickly became evident that Risk Waters, where Karlie worked, had been targeted. Based in the northern part of NYC and with many employees attending its conference that day.
Family of victims killed at work are inexpressibly devastated. We still remember vivid accounts of passengers clinging onto planes as they crash together and burst into flame, but knowing your loved ones were there for reasons unrelated to work can only add further sorrow and heartbreak.
Nearly two decades on, the impact of that tragic day remains all too real. My colleague Gene has never visited Ground Zero but still feels haunted by its events; when asked by me what his thoughts on this anniversary are he replied “it’s really hard to believe it has been 20 years.”
Sarah Ali Escarcega – known by many as Sally – died while attending a Risk Waters event on the 106th floor of London’s North Tower on 9/11. A freelance marketing consultant hailing from Balham in south-west London, Sally had just attended this Risk Waters event on that fateful day and is survived by her family who have set up a charity called Sallyslegacy.org that remembers those lost as well as raises funds to assist victims’ families. Read their moving story here.