2 more 9/11 victims identified days before 20th anniversary of attacks

With the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks just days away, the New York City chief medical examiner's office announced on Tuesday it has identified the remains of two victims who died at the World Trade Center.

The first victim, Dorothy Morgan of Hempstead, New York, was identified through DNA testing of remains found in 2001, NBC New York reports. She is the 1,646th person identified through DNA analysis of unidentified remains. The identity of the second person, whose name is not being released at the request of his family, was confirmed through the DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001, 2002, and 2006.

These are the first new identifications of people killed at the World Trade Center since October 2019, and officials say 1,106 victims — about 40 percent of those who died in the attacks — remain unidentified. The medical examiner's office is using new sequencing technology that is more sensitive and provides faster results than conventional DNA testing processes, NBC New York reports.

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In a statement, Dr. Barbara Sampson, New York City's chief medical examiner, said a promise was made to the families of victims "to do whatever it takes as long as it takes to identify their loved ones, and with these two new identifications, we continue to fulfill that sacred obligation. No matter how much time passes since Sept. 11, 2001, we will never forget, and we pledge to use all the tools at our disposal to make sure all those who were lost can be reunited with their families."