The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 resulted in the largest loss of life by a foreign attack on American soil. 18 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center site. Cases of post-traumatic stress are common among 9/11 survivors and rescue workers.

Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, the number of people successfully rescued from the debris is remarkably small, highlighting the extreme devastation of the event. Official records generally state that only 20 people were pulled alive from the "rubble" or "wreckage" after the buildings fell. This figure includes 18 people from the North Tower and 2 from the South Tower. Notable survivors include Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, who were rescued nearly 24 hours later, and Genelle Guzman-McMillan, who was the last person found alive after 27 hours. While thousands of people successfully evacuated the towers before they collapsed (with estimates ranging from 12,000 to 17,000 survivors in total), the specific count of those who survived being trapped underneath the pulverized concrete and steel remains a somber testament to the lethality of the structural failures.