Melissa Doi’s Frantic 9/11 Phone Call From The Burning South Tower
Public DomainMelissa Doi was 32 when she died during the 9/11 attacks in New York.
When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., 32-year-old Melissa Doi, working in the South Tower, thought a bomb had gone off and evacuated her office almost immediately with her co-workers. Her cousin later told the Ossining Daily Voice that Doi and her co-workers had even made it to the 44th floor when they were told it was safe to return to their office. And so Doi and the others returned to the 83rd floor.
Then, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. The crash occurred between floors 77 and 85, trapping Doi and the others.
Doi decided to call 911. “Holy Mary, mother of God,” she cried at 9:17 a.m., when her call went through to an emergency operator. “I’m on the 83rd floor… Is it — are they going to be able to get somebody up here?”
As the operator tried to keep Doi calm — telling her, “Well, of course, ma’am. We’re coming up for you.” — Doi described her horrifying situation.
“Well, there’s no one here yet and the floor is completely engulfed. We’re on the floor and we can’t breathe,” Doi said. “And it’s very, very, very hot.”
Though the operator tried to calm her down once again, Doi quickly realized her fate: “I’m going to die, aren’t I?… I’m going to die.”
Sajeewashaluka/Wikimedia CommonsMelissa Doi’s name at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
The 911 operator said “no” repeatedly when Doi asked whether she would die. The operator also said, “Ma’am, say your prayers… You gotta think positive, because you gotta help each other get off the floor.”
“Oh, God, it’s so hot. I’m burning up,” Doi said.
Eventually, Doi stopped replying at all, but the 911 operator stayed on the line for another 20 minutes, repeating Doi’s name again and again. But Doi would never respond. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m.
Melissa Doi’s 9/11 phone call was later played at the trial of al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person ever convicted in a U.S. court in connection with the September 11th attacks.
