AS the world marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, local people who lived in New York City at the time remember the terrifying day.

The world stood still two decades ago as it witnessed the deadliest terrorist act in world history.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the attacks and thousands more were injured after 19 men hijacked four commercial aeroplanes.

The attack was orchestrated by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Joni Riley lived in Brooklyn at the time and remembers the day vividly. She was on her way to work when it happened.

She was on the subway when she first realised something major had happened.

Joni, who now lives in Abbey Meads, told the Adver: “When I heard people screaming, it was surreal, I was confused and scared as I didn’t know what was going on.

“I worked in Park Slope, so I had to go through Manhattan to get there. I was on the train, and we were going so slow, all I thought was how I’m going to be late for work.

“I can’t exactly remember the stop we stopped at, but people came on in panic, telling others what had happened, we again slowly made it to the next station where we were all told to evacuate.”

She queued for a pay phone to speak to her mum who told her what happened.

She said: “She was worried sick because she knew I was in Manhattan and would be passing underground on the train under the towers.”

When she walked outside, she described the atmosphere as being unreal.

“There were people running, people covered in blood, I was given a ticket to get the bus, but the bus was jam packed to the point people were trying to climb on top,” Joni said. 

“On the walk home the amount of people who came out of their homes and pulled together offering water and wet flannels, they were amazing.”

She added: “The atmosphere was eerie; it was a dark feeling for a long time.”

Jakub Rymwid-Mickiewicz was supposed to be at the American Language Communication Centre in Midtown, Manhattan on the day of the attacks but he overslept and ended up staying at home.

He said: “When I woke up I turned the TV and there was one tower burning already.

“Knowing that my school was in Manhattan, I was thinking ‘how are my schoolmates and my teachers?’

“I was thinking that it was good that I didn’t go there on this day, because I have asthma and there was the cloud of ashes in Manhattan.

“Many times, I think about the attacks today. They were terrifying, they have changed America, people were different before the attacks and after. Everybody was sad after attacks and like they used to say in New York when I was there, everybody has lost someone in the attacks.

“Me I’m not only regretting the loss of many great people but also miss the place very much. After school I used to often walk there, it was a joyful, wonderful and peaceful place.”

Jakub, who lived in NYC between 2000 and 20004, said he avoided the place where the Twin Tower were for a long time after the attacks.

“It has changed a lot to me personally, I felt depressed because of that,” he said. “I went there a year or two later and it felt terrifying, my favourite place of Manhattan was missing. It felt very sad and depressing, not seeing them in the skyline when approaching Manhattan.”

He now lives in Covingham and has not returned to the city since he left.

Boris Johnson will mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks from his official country residence, Downing Street has said.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Johnson would not be attending the memorial in New York in person today but would mark the anniversary at home as he works from Chequers this weekend. Asked whether Mr Johnson was invited to visit New York – the city of his birth – as part of commemorations, the spokesman said: “I believe our ambassador in Washington will attend the memorial event in New York and lay a wreath.”

To mark the occasion, The US secret service has spent the week sharing never-before-seen images from one of the darkest days in US history. It said: “This week, as the 20th anniversary of September 11th approaches, we will be sharing photos from that day and the days that followed. Some have been shared before and some have never been seen. Never Forget”