Editorially reviewed
John McLoughlin: 9/11 rescue and recovery
Port Authority Sgt. John McLoughlin survived 9/11 with Will Jimeno. Read their World Trade Center rescue story, injuries and recovery, with cited sources.
Who was John McLoughlin?
John McLoughlin was a sergeant with the Port Authority Police Department on September 11, 2001. After the first aircraft struck the North Tower, he went to the World Trade Center with other officers to help people leave the complex. His experience is closely linked to fellow officer Will Jimeno, with whom he survived beneath the collapsed buildings.
What happened beneath the World Trade Center?
McLoughlin and his team gathered rescue equipment and entered the shopping concourse below the towers. The South Tower collapsed while they were below ground. McLoughlin, Jimeno and officer Dominick Pezzulo initially survived in the debris; Pezzulo died after the North Tower fell. McLoughlin and Jimeno were injured and trapped about 30 feet below the surface. These details come from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum's account of Jimeno's oral history.
How were McLoughlin and Jimeno rescued?
Their calls were heard in the debris, and a rescue team including NYPD Emergency Service Unit detective Scott Strauss worked through unstable wreckage to reach them. The team freed Jimeno first, then McLoughlin several hours later. At a January 2002 hospital news conference, McLoughlin described the effort to free him; contemporary reporting said his rescue took about 22 hours after the collapse. The often repeated 13-hour figure refers to Jimeno's earlier rescue, not McLoughlin's.
Injuries and recovery
McLoughlin's legs were crushed in the collapse. He underwent treatment and rehabilitation before leaving Helen Hayes Hospital in January 2002. At the discharge news conference he spoke about his family, the rescuers and his wish to walk again. His personal account offers a more precise view of the aftermath than a generic claim about first-responder recovery.
Sources and scope
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum documents the sequence of the collapse and the rescue team's work. ABC News reported McLoughlin's own remarks and hospital discharge in January 2002. These sources support the events and recovery described here; claims about a sustained public-speaking or healthcare-advocacy career have been omitted because the cited accounts do not establish them.