Before Bill Biggart was killed by the collapse of the second World Trade Center tower, he was able to take some amazing photos of the chaos at the disaster site and the destruction caused by the first tower’s collapse. Biggart, a New York photographer working for a picture agency, did not survive, but incredibly the compact flash card in his digital camera was unharmed. Chip East, a friend of Biggart and a fellow photographer, rescued the photos and has made them available on The Digital Journalist.

The most incredible photo is Biggart’s last (shown here). At bottom right are the familiar metal remains of the first tower, while dominating the photo is the carved-out shell of a massive hotel. See the gallery of photos here.

IMAGE: COPYRIGHT BILL BIGGART/SIPA 2001