The woman who appeared in a photograph that became one of the defining images of the 9/11 terror attacks has died.
The family of Marcy Borders, who became known as the “dust lady” after being coated in ash and pulverised concrete as she escaped the World Trade Centre, confirmed her death on social media.
Ms Borders had been suffering from stomach cancer, which she blamed on the particles that she inhaled on the day. She was 42.
Speaking to NJ.com in November she said: “I’m saying to myself ‘Did this thing ignite cancer cells in me? I definitely believe it because I haven’t had any illnesses. I don’t have high blood pressure ... high cholesterol, diabetes.”
Writing on Facebook , John Borders, her cousin, said that she “unfortunately succumbed to the diseases that [have] ridden her body since 9/11.”
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“In addition to losing so many friends, co-workers, and colleagues on and after that tragic day, the pains from yesteryear [have] found a way to resurface,” he said.
The life of the mother of two fell apart in the years after she escaped from the 81st floor of the northern tower where she was working as an assistant in the legal department of the Bank of America.
Speaking to The Times on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, she spoke in graphic detail of how she hit rock bottom after becoming addicted to alcohol, cocaine, crack and marijuana.
She said: “I didn’t care about myself or anyone else. I couldn’t deal with life. I had become a garbage can. I dropped to around 90lb. My life wasn’t getting any better. I wanted to end it.”
She said she only got her life back on track for the sake of her two children, Noelle and Zayden.
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“I hadn’t been right since September 11,” she said. “My life had been in tumult, on a spiral. My partner Donald, Zayden’s father, was a huge support: he doesn’t do drugs and he tried to help me even though I was horrible to him. Now I go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings every day.
“I was afraid to get on subways or go into state buildings. The last time I had been in a place of work it almost killed me, so I wasn’t interested in work. I had no income.
“My mother helped me. I drank to the point of blackouts. The drugs came about a year before I went into rehab. I didn’t care. I lost control. Despite my behaviour, Donald stayed. I’m glad he did; if he hadn’t, this place would have turned into a crack hotel.”