{i} WTC, complex of of seven office buildings in Manhattan (New York, USA) that included a pair of 110-story twin skyscrapers which were among the largest in the world and were known as the "twin towers" (on September 11th, 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers causing them to fall to the ground)
the WTC a group of buildings in Manhattan, New York City, which included two very tall skyscrapers that were destroyed by terrorists in 2001. Thousands of people were killed when the terrorists flew two planes directly into the buildings. Complex formerly consisting of seven buildings around a central plaza, near the southern tip of Manhattan. Its huge twin towers (completed 1970-72) were designed by Minoru Yamasaki (1912-1986). At 1,368 ft (417 m) and 1,362 ft (415 m) tall, they were the world's tallest buildings until surpassed in 1973 by the Sears Tower in Chicago. The towers were notable for the relationship of their simple, light embellishment to their underlying structure. In 1993 a bomb planted by terrorists exploded in the underground garage, killing several people and injuring some 1,000. A much more massive attack occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, when first One World Trade Center and then Two World Trade Center were struck by hijacked commercial airliners deliberately flown into them. Shortly thereafter both of the heavily damaged towers, as well as adjacent buildings, collapsed into enormous piles of debris. The attacks the deadliest terrorist assault in history claimed the lives of some 2,800 victims. Thousands more were injured. See September 11 Attacks