600 people were on Floor 77 or higher when Flight 175 struck the tower and only 18 escaped. It is believed that around half of them were killed instantly the moment the plane struck, while the roughly 300 crash survivors were not technically trapped but most still perished, unaware that a means of escape still existed or simply unable to use it in the time they had. Despite having fewer fatalities, the causes of death in the South Tower were still, for the most part, identical to those in the North Tower. The 18 people who escaped before the South Tower collapsed descended using Stairwell A; a further 11 people killed in the attacks are known to have been killed below the impact zone after the crash into the South Tower. The 9/11 Commission notes that this fact strongly indicates that evacuation below the impact zones was a success, allowing most to safely evacuate before the collapse of the World Trade Center. World Trade Center Hotel There is no precise number of deaths that occurred within the hotel as many who sheltered in the hotel during and after the collapse of the South Tower were protected by the reinforced beams that had been installed by the Port Authority after the 1993 bombing. However, the pieces of the South Tower did cause catastrophic damage to the hotel, with many claiming the hotel was cut in half by the falling debris, with survivors stating the pressure picked everyone up and carried them through the air. Hotel employees that were protected by the beams were ordered to evacuate while firefighters remained to attempt to dig out those covered by debris. After the collapse of the North Tower additional debris caused those stuck under the debris to be crushed and killed including two hotel employees; Joe Keller and Abdu Malahi. Additionally at least 41 firefighters who had been attempting to clear the hotel and 11 of the 940 registered guests were killed. Deaths involving elevators A USA Today report estimated that approximately 200 people perished inside the elevators, while only 21 escaped the elevators. However, it was later found that 16% of those who evacuated the South Tower used an elevator and simulations of the evacuation without elevators claim to show that the use of elevators saved about 3,000 individuals in the South Tower. Many elevators did not plunge when the planes crashed through,