The effects of the terrorist attacks in America came home to Bermuda yesterday as the Island sprang into action to take nine aircraft and more than 1,000 passengers whose flights had been diverted from the United States.

As the US banned all planes from landing on American soil yesterday morning, armed Police and Bermuda Regiment soldiers threw a ring of tight security around Bermuda International Airport amid fears that terrorists may have hijacked one of the jets diverted to the Island.

The Department of Tourism and Bermuda Hotel Association (BHA) quickly worked together to find rooms for the passengers who had made an unexpected touch-down on the Island.

By late afternoon, 600 Island hotel rooms were found for an estimated 1,000 passengers and crew on six of the nine flights which remained grounded overnight in Bermuda.

Residents quickly rallied to help the emergency situation by offering rooms in their homes for the stranded passengers. Others made their way to the Airport to volunteer to unload baggage for the new arrivals.

Many Bermudians faced an anxious day as they waited to find out if relatives and loved ones working in New York or the Pentagon in Washington, DC, had survived the terrorist attacks. Bermudian Rhondell Tankard, who worked for Aon Bermuda in the World Trade Center, was missing last night.

Some of the 25 staff at the Bermuda Tourism Office in New York were forced to sleep in the office last night because the Manhattan transport system has been paralysed by the attacks. One staff member, Yvonne Morgan, said: "I want to come home. We are all scared here."

Sandra Richards, who works at ACE Insurance next to the World Trade Center, which was destroyed, said: "It was awful. I can't believe it and I know tomorrow it is going to seem like a dream."

Cabinet broke up early yesterday morning and the Emergency Measures Organisations (EMO) was hastily convened as news that aircraft heading for the US from Europe would need to be diverted to Bermuda or Canada.

With fears of further terrorist attacks high, armed Police officers were sent to guard the US Consul General's residence in Devonshire.

By mid-afternoon, nine US-bound aircraft had landed in Bermuda. They were the British Airways flight to Miami, Continental flights from Lisbon and San Juan, Puerto Rico, American Airlines from Madrid, Martin Air from Amsterdam, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Al Italia from Milan, and Delta from Barcelona and Rome.

The Al Italia, Martin Air and Lufthansa jets refuelled and returned to home yesterday afternoon, but about 1,000 passengers and crew remained in Bermuda and were housed in 600 rooms in hotels across the Island.

Armed Police and Regiment soldiers kept the Airport sealed off last night and mobile patrols kept the remaining six jets under guard.

The EMO ensured that taxis and buses were diverted to the Airport to pick up the passengers. Volunteer translators also arrived to help non-English speakers.

Most of the shell-shocked passengers who arrived in Bermuda, including British tennis star Tim Henman, had no idea of the carnage in the US until they stepped off the plane.

Mr. Henman, who was on his way to Miami from London for four days practice before playing a Davis Cup Match in Ecuador, told The Royal Gazette: "They told us there were problems with US airspace, but when we touched down we heard it was a lot more dramatic than that. It's terrible, its just horrendous."

Passengers expressed horror and surprised when they realised the World Trade Center and Pentagon had been attacked by hijacked passenger jets.

Bill Varon, a cruise line executive, who was also on the diverted British Airways flight from London to Miami, was visibly shaken outside the airport terminal when he learned details of the carnage.

He said: "I'm depressed and angry. I'm an American, I'm from New York. I'm numbed, surprised, and like everyone else, I feel damn well p****d off."

US citizen Julie Heller, who was on the diverted American Airways Madrid to Miami flight, said: "I am sure the US will retaliate. Don't think they are going to get away with this."

After the last of the estimated 1,000 passengers were processed through Customs and Immigration, acting Airport operations manager Michael Osborn said: "It went remarkably well. Everyone was saying that all the agencies worked very well together."

More than 700 of the stranded passengers were taken to the Fairmont Southampton Princess yesterday.

Describing the effort to find rooms for all the diverted passengers, BHA president Billy Griffith said: "Its gone quite smoothly. The good thing was that we did have available rooms because hotel occupancy is not tremendously high at the moment." Premier Jennifer Smith said yesterday: "It's an extraordinary event for us. We want to protect security as best we can, of US interests in Bermuda. Bermudians and family members will naturally be concerned about loved ones who may be stranded in the US."

Tourism Minister David Allen said: "There is great concern that Bermudians were working in these buildings in New York. There is great stress in many Bermudian homes because of this, and there is no way of getting through to their loved ones.

"There are 25 Bermudians working in the Tourist Office in Manhattan and they are going to be housed in their office tonight because there is no way they can get out and go home (because transport is paralysed). This has touched everybody."