New York
The City of New York officially closed its search for human remains in debris from the World Trade Center this week. Dignitaries and mourners marked the occasion in a ceremony at the Fresh Kills landfill, where workers spent months sifting for clues in a million and a half tons of rubble. Using remains as small as bone splinters, investigators have identified 1,229 of the 2,823 victims. Medical examiners will keep trying to assign names to the 20,000 body parts collected after Sept. 11. DNA testing, which has cracked 500 cases, could be the only way to solve more. The force of the imploding towers didn’t leave much behind in the way of clues, said Dr. Robert Shaler, the city’s director of forensic biology. “It was like a huge mortar and pestle.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
