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Stella Lee

A Hong Kong-born engineer yesterday recalled the chaos as he fled down 91 floors of the World Trade Centre's south tower just before it was struck by a hijacked plane.

'If I'd left it a minute longer, I would have been dead,' said Louie Kam-ming.

Mr Louie, 62, said he had started to run down the stairs after the north tower was struck by the first plane and kept on running even as others were told to stay behind because the danger was over.

Mr Louie, elder brother of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's economics professor Lui Ting-ming, said he heard a Tannoy announcement when he passed the 78th floor saying it was safe for people to return to their offices. But he paid no attention and continued his flight down 2,000 steps to the ground.

'It was the fear of more attacks by terrorists that kept me running.

'I thought I would die if I stayed,' Mr Louie said.

The civil engineer, who emigrated to the United States more than 30 years ago, said he went to work at Raytheon Company on the 91st floor of the 110-storey south tower as usual on Tuesday morning.

'I went to the washroom at around 8.45am. When I returned to my desk, I saw my colleagues escaping and carrying their briefcases.

'They said the north tower had been hit by a rocket. We did not know it was a plane.

'Red flames and dense smoke was billowing over to our side.

'I thought it might be terrorists and that we might also be attacked soon. I decided to run,' Mr Louie said.

Mr Louie said he ran to one of the four staircases at 8.50am, adding that he knew he should not try to take the lift during an emergency.

'When we reached the 78th floor, the building broadcast an announcement that it was now safe and we could go back to our office if we wanted.

'Some colleagues took the lift to return to the office and that was the end of it for them. I hesitated for a moment but decided to continue running,' Mr Louie said.

Mr Louie had made the right decision.

A second plane hijacked by terrorists was on its way, headed for the south tower. It reached its target about 18 minutes after the first plane. When he reached the 65th floor, he heard the second plane crash into the tower just a few floors above him. He said the staircase was getting more and more crowded in the lower floors and he became stuck when he reached that floor.

'I was anxious because I did not know what was going on. But minutes later we felt our tower being hit. People started to panic but continued to move forward,' Mr Louie said.

'As I ran for my life, I saw how people reacted the moment they were facing death. Some were crying while others were too frightened to stay calm,' he said. After he reached the ground, Mr Louie said he continued to run towards Chinatown more than a kilometre away, shortly before both towers collapsed.

'I didn't see them collapse as I didn't look back. I was afraid there would be a third and fourth attack,' he said.

Mr Louie then used a telephone in a club to call to his home in Chinatown to tell his wife he was safe as neither of their mobile phones nor pay phones were in service.

Mr Louie, who said several of his colleagues had died in the tragedy, believed the 45-minute escape journey had taught him a lesson about life.

'There are things beyond your control. If you're in luck, you can escape. Of course, it's also related to how you make decisions. I have eaten half a chicken to celebrate my lucky escape,' he said.

The Immigration Department in Hong Kong received 88 calls for information and 17 calls for help by 11pm yesterday, including five calls from people who had failed to contact their family members in the US.

One of the five callers was a relative of a Hong Kong man, Steve Wong, who worked at the World Trade Centre.

Graphic: LAST14GET



'A minute longer and I would have been dead'