September 11, 2001: “It was like a science fiction movie”

Shock, dismay, surprise, trauma. The September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States shook the West and remains a tragedy that has forever marked those who covered the event on the ground.

Jean-François Guérin and Paul Larocque went on site for TVA Nouvelles. The two colleagues recalled on the airwaves of LCN these moments impossible to forget, Friday, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al-Qaeda.

“These are images that leave an indelible mark on anyone who has been able to get there. I will never forget this terrible spectacle. It was the embodiment of hell, ”recalled Paul Larocque.

Jean-François Guérin, who was one of the first Canadian journalists to arrive in New York, remembers the very first moments, when he was told he was leaving for the main site of the attacks. At that time, only one aircraft had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. He is therefore informed by his boss to prepare because he is going on special cover in the American metropolis.

“I’m going to take my daughter, not even 2 years old, to daycare, I pack my bags … and there, the second plane goes into the tower. The tower is collapsing, airports are closing, air transport is closing… ”, Mr. Guérin told his program“ Le Québec matin ”.

This is when everyone understands that these are indeed terrorist attacks.

Sent on site with a whole team of TVA Nouvelles, it will take a lot of effort for Jean-François Guérin to get to the site of the attacks, or at least, as close as possible.

“I arrive around the beginning of the evening of September 11, unable to return to New York!” All access was blocked. I managed to get home on the morning of September 12th. And what I saw there … It was a science fiction movie. Thicknesses of dust on the sidewalks, army Hummers, the feeling … The smell, a sort of pungent odor in the air, ”recalled Jean-François Guérin.



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