Last Thursday marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in the United States. Despite more than two decades having passed, the incident is still talked about to this day and has been dubbed “the deadliest terrorist attack in human history.”

What exactly happened that day?

On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes. One of them was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing 184 people.

Image Credit: Reuters

Meanwhile, two other planes crashed into the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) complex. This attack was the most devastating, claiming 2,753 lives.

After learning of the other attacks, the passengers aboard the fourth hijacked plane decided to fight back. Eventually, Flight 93 crashed into an empty field in western Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes from Washington, D.C. Forty people reportedly lost their lives.

Image Credit: NPR

The total number of casualties, including the hijackers, involved people from multiple nations and Malaysia was one of them. Interestingly, all three Malaysians were working in the same WTC building but were on different floors at the time of the attack.

Here are the stories of the three Malaysians who tragically lost their lives that day:

Vijayashanker Paramsothy

Image Credit: FMT

Fondly known as Shanker, he was only 23 years old at the time of his death. Shanker worked as a financial analyst at Aon Corporation and was on the 103rd floor of the South Tower when the plane crashed.

Born in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Shanker was the only child of Sivapkiam Paramsothy and Navaratnam Pathmawaty.

On that fateful day, he had just returned to New York from a friend’s wedding in Spain. Despite suffering from severe burns and injuries, it was reported that Shanker stayed behind to help his gravely injured supervisor while urging others to flee.

He was said to have been caught in an elevator that overshot its highest floor, hitting the ceiling before falling 15 feet and injuring his back. Shanker spent four months in a cast before his passing.

After his death, his parents established the Fullbright-Vijayashanker Memorial Exchange Fellowship and published a biography about him titled “The Perfect Son.”

Khoo Sei Lai

Image Credit: FMT

Originally from Sandakan, Sabah, Khoo, 38, was a mutual fund manager at Fred Alger Management and worked on the 93rd floor of the North Tower.

Described as a career-focused woman, Khoo majored in computer science with a minor in economics at Columbia College. She joined Fred Alger in 1989 and worked her way up to become executive vice-president and portfolio manager.

At the time of her passing, Khoo was engaged to be married. Her younger brother, Khoo Yeng Leng, shared that his sister welcomed him with open arms when he first moved to New York. She treated him to his first Broadway show and helped him settle into the city.

Ang Siew Nya

Image Credit: FMT

Born in Penang, Ang left Malaysia at the age of 18 to pursue her studies in Canada. She later moved to the United States, where she earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Ang was 37 years old when she lost her life. She worked as a technical analyst for Marsh USA, located on the 95th floor of the North Tower. Ang was happily married and had two daughters, aged seven and four at the time of her death.

Just two months before the tragedy, Ang and her husband had bought their dream home with a spacious backyard for their children.

After her passing, Ang’s husband, Lee Kui Liong, struggled to explain her absence to their daughters, eventually telling them that their mother was in heaven. Her daughters were said to have kept a picture of Ang in their bedroom as a nightly tribute.

Featured Image Credit: FMT, LA Times