New technology helps medical examiners identify remains of 9/11 victim

The Sept. 11 memorial in New York City.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Just a few weeks ahead of the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the New York City medical examiner's office was able to identify the remains of a man killed at the World Trade Center.

The man, whose name was withheld at the request of his family, is the World Trade Center's 1,641st identified victim. The medical examiner's office said they still have been unable to identify the remains of 1,112 people, or about 40 percent of those who died. It has been extremely difficult to identify the remains, as very few full bodies were recovered after the twin towers fell, and bacteria, heat, and jet fuel made it hard to analyze the fragments.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.