Seven-month pregnant WTC worker walked down 77 floors

A woman who is seven-months pregnant has told how she walked 77 floors down from the World Trade Centre.

Software tester Jyoti Vyas says thoughts of protecting her baby urged her on through the exhausting evacuation.

She said: "I knew our building had been hit. The roof collapsed, there was smoke and debris everywhere. There were 8-10 of us on that floor. We rushed to find a staircase.

"The first few floors were horrible. I could smell the jet fuel and I didn't want to breathe, but I forced myself to keep walking.

"Many people saw this heavily-pregnant woman and stopped to help. They asked me to sit down, but I couldn't. I had to keep walking. I kept thinking of my baby, my husband, getting home."

Ms Vyas was taken to the Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, where tests found mother and baby were fine.

However, she had to spend the night in the hospital because all the bridges and tunnels were closed off.

"In all that chaos, there were many kind people who helped me," she told the Indo Asian newspaper.