JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A record of the drama of Sept. 11 is now out. NewsChannel 4 has been granted exclusive access to the first 911 tapes from 9/11.

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911 Tapes From Jersey City

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Brian Thompson reported on the first of NewsChannel 4's two-part account of the tapes from the Jersey City police and fire departments.

They are the only 911 tapes to be released so far, as the public has yet to hear "as they happened accounts" from New York authorities, but they carry much of the drama and emotion of the day.

Officials saw it from across the river in Jersey City. A police officer working traffic at a construction site called in: "Just saw something hit the twin tower. Looks like a plane, just hit the twin tower."

Dispatcher: You said a plane hit the twin tower?
Officer: Yes sir, a plane.
Officer: Construction detail that's correct, a plane just dove into the twin tower.
Dispatcher: Receive that, notify New York.
Officer: That's the north tower, the north tower just got hit.

New York, of course, knew, but when the second plane hit 18 minutes later, it knew something else.

911 caller: There is a plane, went into the, into the other tower now.
Dispatcher: We know, we know.
911 caller: I looked right at it, terrible.
Dispatcher: We're under some kind of attack, stay on the line.

For the first time, as tragedy turned into chaos, the tapes echo the words of would-be rescuers as they were spoken.

Official: Looks like the building imploded just now... the World Trade Center imploded.
Official: Tower one just went down.
Official: One building collapsed.
Official: No sh**!
Official: Easy, easy gentlemen.
Official: Headquarters, New York City reporting numerous FD, EMS and PD are now trapped on the ground, under debris.

Uniform or civilian, injured or not, thousands took to the ferries to flee to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

Official: I'm meeting a ferry at the Colgate dock. I need a paramedic down here for the next incoming ferry, should be landing in about four minutes, there's a life-threatening circumstance on that boat.
Dispatcher: OK.
Official: At the foot of the ferry dock here, at the foot of York Street, on the dock of the ferry, they're transporting numerous injured parties wherever they want them, requesting as many ambulances as possible, have burn victims here and injuries from shrapnel, they're pretty life-threatening, some of them.

The casualties coming into New Jersey numbered in the hundreds. Triage centers were set up as emergency action plans were suddenly swamped.

Official: We got a lot of burn victims. You're gonna want to notify St. Barnabas in Livingston, pass the word to come in and treat these people.
Official: One thing I'm concerned about, at the foot of York, where the ambulances are supposed to be, there are no ambulances here.
Official: I got ferries coming in at the foot of York Street down here, and I'm talking about one after the other, we got hundreds of people off here. Injured, burned, get me all the help you can, all the ambulances you can down here, I'm going to need about 20 more bodies [police]. I'm gonna clean this area and get all these spectators out of here. If they don't move I want them locked up. Now get them [more police officers] down here now.

Before the second collapse, an urgent call was made from an office worker in Jersey City talking to a colleague across the river.

Worker: I'm calling from Jersey City, from the other branch. It's eight people trapped in office. We have them on the line.
Dispatcher: OK, what floor is he on?
Worker: Thirty-ninth.
Worker: I instructed him to get out. He needs help, he's screaming for help.