The September 11th attack
Trade Center rubble yields clue
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The passport of a suspected hijacker was discovered near the ruins of the World Trade Center, authorities said yesterday as exhausted rescue workers clawed through the wreckage, searching unsuccessfully for signs of life.
Associated Press
FBI Assistant Director Barry Mawn did not disclose the name on the passport or other details, but the discovery prompted an intensive search yesterday for evidence blocks from the towers that were brought down by two hijacked jets.
Nearly 5,000 people remain missing at the site of the World Trade Center towers, where strained rescue workers work feverishly in hopes of pulling survivors from the ruins.
Earlier in the day, financial experts declared nearby Wall Street ready for at least a semblance of business tomorrow.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said a new ferry service carrying passengers between Brooklyn and Manhattan would help workers get to their offices.
"This could be the most jarring event in American history," he said. "There's every reason to understand why people are going to be very traumatized or very upset by it, but the best way to deal with it is to try to get back to normal."
The city also released a partial list of victims, and Giuliani said more than 150 people had been confirmed dead, including 18 firefighters. Nearly 5,000 are missing, among them an FBI and a Secret Service agent.
For the third frustrating day, the cleanup effort at ground zero yielded none of the pings or knocks that might signal a survivor.
Death toll rises
Here is a tally of victims and people missing from the attacks, as of yesterday at 7 a.m. Hawai'i time.
New York
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Confirmed dead: 152
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Dead who have been identified: 92
Missing: 4,972, including hundreds of firefighters and 23 New York police officers.
Washington
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Believed dead: 189, a combination of military and civilian employees at the Defense Department and the passengers and crew of American Airlines Flight 77.
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Missing: 74
Pennsylvania
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Confirmed dead: 45
Airline crashes
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American Airlines Flight 11: 92
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American Airlines Flight 77: 64
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United Airlines Flight 175: 65
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United Airlines Flight 93: 45
John Hartley, a volunteer from White Plains, N.Y., spent a grueling 16-hour shift passing buckets of rubble by hand. When it was over, he practically staggered up the street. "You're taking out rubble a brick at a time. You're always hoping that you find something," he said.
A small sign of normalcy came from a few blocks away, where the New York Stock Exchange tested its computer and communications systems and said it was ready for trading to resume tomorrow.
The Nasdaq and American Stock Exchange, which have also been closed since the attack, also planned to reopen tomorrow. But with ash covering the streets and only sporadic electricity in some high-rises, it was also clear it won't be a normal business day — or week.
Back at the World Trade Center, details of rescuers' grisly finds since Tuesday began to emerge. Among them were a pair of hands, bound together, found on a rooftop, authorities said.
The New York Times reported yesterday that one rescuer found the body of a flight attendant, whose hands were also bound. Another worker told the paper he had found the remains of people strapped to what seemed to be airplane seats.
Dazed firefighters showed the strain of their fruitless hunt for life.
"They're drained," said Greg Shriver, a firefighter who came from Connecticut to help. "They have to rest up to go back. They've lost a lot of brothers."
About 300 firefighters were lost in the carnage, by far the worst tragedy since the city's first engine companies were formed in 1865. Giuliani said New York's Fire Department would announce 160 promotions today to replace fallen officers.
