'Distasteful and offensive': Twin Towers costumes spark outrage

SWNS.com

Amber Langford, left, and Annie Collinge, right, reportedly said their 9/11-themed costumes were "not intended as a joke."

By Alexander Smith, NBC News contributor

LONDON -- Two British teens have sparked outrage after dressing up for Halloween as the Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks.

The costumes were labeled "South Tower" and "North Tower" and included explosions, planes, and people jumping out of the buildings, The Sun newspaper reported. The tabloid's front-page headline on Wednesday read "Towering Stupidity."
The 19-year-old students also wore American flags planted among more wreckage on their heads.

They reportedly received £150 ($240) for winning the "best dressed" competition at a Halloween party at Rosies nightclub in Chester, England.

The newspaper named the pair as Amber Langford, a biology student whose father is reportedly a retired pilot, and criminology student Annie Collinge.

John Feal, president of New York-based 9/11 victims’ organization The FealGood Foundation, described the incident aas "shameful."

Slideshow: Sept. 11: Attack on America

Str / REUTERS

See images from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Launch slideshow

"The insensitivity level for this act of ignorance is topped by none. As for the nightclub who allowed it, sponsored it and endorsed it, shame on you," Feal told The Sun.

Almost 3,000 people died in the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, including 67 U.K. citizens.
The teens apologized "if any offence was caused."

In a statement to the Sun, they added: "The idea was to depict a serious, modern-day horror that happened in our lifetime and was not intended as a joke."

A spokeswoman for the Stonegate Pub Company, which runs Rosies nightclub, added: "We are extremely concerned that an award was made to two women dressed in a distasteful and offensive manner."