Sarah Ferguson 'counts every day as blessing' after almost dying in 9/11 attacks

11 September 2023 , 10:50

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Sarah Ferguson who narrowly avoided being caught up in 9/11 (Image: Getty Images)

Nobody will forget the utter devastation when thousands were killed in the horrific terror attacks on New York's World Trade Centre. It was 22 years today that two hijacked planes were flown into the centre's twin towers. Another plane was flown into the Pentagon in Washington DC and another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after brave passengers overpowered the terrorists.

In the wake of the tragedy, survival stories were full of sliding doors moments - missed trains making workers late, hangovers stopping people from getting planes, security passes not working - all meaning some ended up narrowly avoiding being caught up in the carnage.

And one of them was Fergie, who had a busy schedule planned for September 11, 2001, packed with meetings in New York City. She started with an interview with news anchor Matt Lauer at NBC Studios and was due to attend a meeting with her charity Chances for Children shortly afterwards.

Fergie had been due at a meeting in the World Trade Centre but got caught in traffic (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

This second appointment of the day was at the charity's offices, on the 101st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. However, after leaving NBC she got caught up in bad traffic, which meant she was set to be 20 minutes late for the meeting - and it saved her life. The delay meant she wasn't in the tower when the plane hit 8.46am.

Fergie has spoken about her near-death experience and said it's made her determined to make the most out of her life. She told Hello magazine : "I take every minute as a blessing, I really do, and I really work hard at it. Because the minute you look too far forward, then you're missing now. The minute you look back, you can't go back. Hindsight is a wonderful thing."

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The aftermath of the horrific attack on the World Trade Centre (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Nobody from Chances for Children died in the attack, however, 700 employees from financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which rented the charity part use of their office for free, were killed. Before the attack, Fergie had designed a new mascot - a rag doll she called Little Red. It had red hair and an orange and white dress. The original doll was sitting on her desk in the office when the plane hit the tower.

After the attack, when she was watching the horrifying footage of the wreckage, she spotted the little doll in the rubble. Speaking to the BBC in 2014 she said: "When it came on TV, I looked and saw Little Red and the presenter said 'Oh look there's a child's doll!' and I immediately called up the presenter and said please, don't worry.

"Because I was so worried they would think that a child was lost or buried in the rubble. So I said no, it's not a child's doll it's Little Red and she is a symbol for Chances for Children." The mascot is now part of the 9/11 memorial exhibit on Ground Zero.

Fergie's ex-husband Prince Andrew has also spoken of the moment he heard the news, knowing she was due to be in the building. He was in the air himself, flying from the UK to Atlanta, but like all flights that day, his plane was turned back.

Speaking in 2006, he said: "It was difficult to remain calm when I had to sit in the plane unable to communicate with New York, knowing Sarah had an office in the World Trade Centre and was in New York at the time. I had some small insight into the anguish many families were suffering that day."

Jennifer Newton