A NORTH-EAST student who was on her way to the World Trade Centre when the terrorists struck was stranded last night.

Alexia Gillen, from Hartlepool, is staying in a youth hostel near Central Park and is desperate for a flight home.

The 20-year-old had a narrow escape on Tuesday when she took the subway train to the World Trade Centre for a sightseeing trip.

Her train was evacuated at Times Square, minutes after the first plane struck, and she watched the horrific events unfold on the huge TV screens in New York's most famous square.

Miss Gillen, a psychology student at Liverpool University, contacted The Northern Echo yesterday and described the events in New York since the tragedy.

She said: "The atmosphere is very sombre. There are notices all over the wall in the youth hostel from family members who are searching for people in New York City. All the phones are extremely busy and it is hard to get an international line.

"I think the general feeling amongst everybody I have spoken to is that we all just want to get home."

Miss Gillen, who is with two of her university friends, said all the flights seemed to still be cancelled and the airline phone numbers were jammed.

She added that most of the city remained completely closed and all downtown trains had been stopped after a bomb scare, although a few more shops had opened.

Earlier this week Miss Gillen told of her fear as she watched the carnage of the World Trade Centre.

She said: "We heard the rumblings and that was quite scary, but it didn't seem real because it was such a strange concept to grasp."