New York, Aug 29: After a plane struck the first of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on September 11, 2001, callers from the top floors of the neighbouring tower were told by police to remain where they were. According to transcripts made public yesterday, a male caller from the 92nd floor of the second tower told a police officer of the port authority of New York and New Jersey, which owned the trade center, "We need to know if we need to get out of here, because we know there's an explosion."

The officer asked if there was smoke on the floor, and the caller replied that there was not. "Should we stay or should we not?" the caller asked.

"I would wait till further notice," the officer replied.

"Ok, all right," the caller said. "Don't evacuate." He then hung up. A second, similar call - with the same police response - came in a short time after the 8:46 am crash in the first tower. No one in the top floors of the tower survived after the second plane hit around the 80th floor shortly after 9 am.

The evacuation of 2 World Trade Center - and when it began - has been a source of some anguish to relatives of those who died. Some survivors have said they were advised to remain in the building.

But the transcripts provide the first look at the extraordinarily difficult decisions faced by both occupants of the towers and port authority personnel as they struggled to respond to the attack. Bureau Report