Manchester Arena attack survivors say it 'felt like family' standing with those involved in 9/11

Survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing say it "felt like family" standing alongside those who survived 9/11 as they marked its anniversary.

The members of the Manchester Survivors Choir were in New York for the 21st annual memorial to the victims of the attacks.

The girls spent five days in the city where they addressed a global audience at the UN, performed on stage and met survivors of the 9/11 attack.

Most of those in the choir do not remember 9/11, only Lucy Jarvis, who is 23, was born at the time, but at the age of just two, she does not remember the tragedy unfolding.

But their connection with its survivors will link them forever

Alicia Taylor said: "It's like they're all family.

"And there's such a warm feeling being around people and like a subliminal understanding that we've both been through traumatic events, but we're still here today."

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the terror attacks, with countless more injured.

And, for the girls, their trip was a chance to meet those with whom they share a devastating bond.

Abi Quinn, 17, said: "You're hearing from other people, 21 years ago, you hear them from them and they're still on their healing journey and it makes it like it's still alright for you to be on that journey.

"It's very heavy on you but it's important what we're doing here, and it needs to be done."

Lucy Jarvis was badly injured in the Arena attack.

She says she spent much of the time in the aftermath dealing with the physical effects - it is only recently that she has come to consider the psychological effects of such a traumatic experience.

She said: "Five years for us. 21 years for them, we're all still going through that in different ways, and we're not alone.

"We have each other. We've been speaking to them all today and they're like, if you're ever in New York, we're your family, give us a call, text or whatever."

Ground Zero remains a cemetery, the bodies of many of those lost were never recovered.

Every year on the anniversary of the attacks, people gather at the Memorial on the site where the Twin Towers once stood, to remember those who lost their lives.

Families, friends, survivors - none will ever forget that day.

During the service, the names of all of those who died are read aloud, in a ceremony which can take up to four hours.

Amongst those names were those from the North West who were killed.

Ron Gilligan, a 43-year-old stockbroker, from Kirby in Merseyside, was in his office on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Centre’s North Tower when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into it at 8.46am.

His body has never been recovered.

Michael Lomax was from Heaton Moor in Stockport. After attending Didsbury Road Junior School and Stockport Grammar School, he read Maths at Oxford University.

He was working on the the 93rd Floor of the South Tower when it also was hit by a hijacked plane. He was 37-years-old.

Their names are etched into the memorial alongside all of those who died.

Those who survived that day are still haunted by what they saw.

Kenneth Simmons spent six days pulling bodies from the rubble - this is the first time he has returned to the site in 21 years.

Struggling to control his emotion, he said: "It's sad, because I see things you don't see. I see the smoke.

"I see the fire, I hear the noise and I hear all these people in my head, it was like that day all over again.

"And for me, it's just like I got to find somebody. I got to dig for something. For me, it's like, well, I know I won't sleep again tonight."

And as well as making new friends, they have conquered some of their own fears.

Ellie Taylor, 20, struggled to go into Manchester city centre after the Arena attack.

She would only go with her mum and cannot bear to go anywhere near the Arena.

For her, even travelling to another big city is an enormous achievement.

"I've always dreamt of coming to New York," she said, "but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, you know, going into Times Square and seeing how many people there were.

"It was like, okay, you know, we're here now, there's no going back,  you've kind of just got to get on with it.

"And we were able to do that because we have each other.

"And, you know, we've come to the end of it now, which, you know, I'm actually really, really sad to leave."

For choir leader and Bee the Difference creator Cath Hill, seeing the girls make such huge progress has been an emotional experience.

"To come to another city where they've experienced such a huge attack and to see how they've coped and how they've moved on, and meeting all those people from lots and lots of different terrorist attacks throughout the world at the UN, it's just so inspiring."

Every year on the anniversary of 9/11, two columns of light are beamed high into the sky.

The commemorative light show appears at dusk and remains until dawn and has become an iconic symbol that both honours those killed, and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York.

The beams reach up to four miles into the sky, echoing the shape of the Twin Towers. The installation can also be viewed from a 60-mile radius around lower Manhattan.

For the girls, it was a highlight of the trip and a moment which made them all realise just how far they had come.