More Remains Found At Ground Zero

[Neil D]

Sunday October 22, 2006

The surprise discovery of human remains earlier this week in an abandoned manhole at the site of the World Trade Center attacks prompted a new search for 9/11 victims and workers recovered more material this weekend.

On Thursday contractors working on a transit hub discovered remains and personal effects, including at least one wallet. On Saturday workers tore into the pavement on a service road on the edge of the site and excavated more material from other manholes by hand.

That material was sifted on-site and officials found 15 more pieces of remains, bringing the total to nearly 100 pieces recovered this week.

The remains found on Thursday included dozens of bones, possibly ribs, arms and legs, according to officials from the city medical examiner's office.

After that grim discovery New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called an emergency meeting with police and fire officials and the city's medical examiner's office for Friday.

They decided that staff from police and fire departments and the city's medical examiner's office must accompany utility workers while they're inspecting manholes and other utility areas in the area around Ground Zero.

Relatives of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001 were outraged to learn that victims' remains were still at the site of the attack five years later and are demanding federal and state inquiries into how this could've happened.

The search for the dead at Ground Zero ended in 2002 after a massive cleanup that included the removal of 1.5 million tonnes of debris. Crews recovered about 20,000 pieces of human remains.

More than 40 percent of the 2,749 victims in New York have never been identified.