Two heroes 9/11 died of cancer shortly after each other

new york - Ferry captain Thomas Phelan (45), who evacuated hundreds of people on 11 September 2001, died of cancer on Friday. Also fire brigade Keith Young did not survive the '9/11 cancer'.

The two were most likely ill due to the exposure to toxic substances after the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Phelan worked for the ferry that brought people to the Statue of Liberty. When he saw on 11 September that it was totally wrong on Manhattan, he put his ferry in as a lifeboat and evacuated hundreds of people.

'He brought materials, rescue workers and was an important part of the operation,' writes the New York Fire Department on Facebook. Phelan went to work at the fire brigade two years after the attack and then went to sea again for the navy.