The harrowing story of 9/11 victim Edna Cintron – the “waving woman who never gave up hope”

Edna Cintron, known as the “waving woman who never gave up hope,” is one of thousands of people we remember on the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Cintron, 46, an administrative assistant at Marsh & McLennan, tried to get help and was seen in the haunting image standing on the edge of the World Trade Center's north tower, 93 stories up.

She waved next to a gaping hole after one of the planes – Flight 11 – crashed into the building that hellish day, surrounded by searing flames and clouds of black smoke.

Eerie images showed many people trying to escape jumping from the towers before the devastating collapse.

At 10:28 a.m. the waving stopped as the North Towers completely collapsed and Cintron was one of the 2,996 people killed that day.

Cintron’s iconic image is still shared, spread and remembered.

The haunting image of Cintron waving and hoping someone will come to her aid before the North Tower collapses

In the video posted by 9/11 Revisited, Cintron's husband William describes the agonizing moments before his wife's death.

According to the footage, he tentatively identified his wife “as the woman who stood at the edge of the impact hole for twenty minutes waiting for rescue.”

However, a man whose fiancée was also in the building claimed that the waving woman – dressed in white pants and a black shirt – was not Edna Cintron, but his fiancée, Karen Juday.

According to 911 Revisited, the man's claim was based on the clothes his deceased fiancée wore to work that day.

Further details from the terrifying video show Cintron along with two other people trying to survive.

During the emotional call, an unidentified woman who recorded the video can be heard saying, “David might be trying to call me,” she said, crying. “I'll call back.”

In the background you can hear the blaring sirens, news anchors on site and utter chaos.

An obituary published on Legacy.com spoke of Cintron's “courage and strength.”

Her husband, William Cintron, said the couple was once homeless and that Cintron supported him during their 12-year marriage as he struggled with alcohol addiction.

He said that it was thanks to her love and support that he stayed sober.

Al-Qaeda hijackers flew two planes into the Twin Towers

The gaping hole that was created after a plane hit the north towers of the World Trade Center

“She made sure I kept myself under control,” he said. “She made sure I did the things I was supposed to do. She was a very, very strong woman because she stood her ground.”

He also admitted that Cintron was “more like a mother to him.”

“She made sure I ate right and that no one manipulated me. So she was also my backbone. She made me strong. She made me who I am today.”

And he also remembered how she made her house in East Elmhurt a home.

“She would come home from work, come home, cook, make sure there was food on the table when I got home from work and everything,” he said.

“And every evening we ate ice cream and watched TV.”

On September 11, 2001, a hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, exploding at 9:03 a.m. during the unprecedented attack.

The two planes were hijacked by terrorists led by Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and almost 3,000 people were killed when the Twin Towers collapsed.