NYC-WTC_000230650

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE, OCTOBER 2, 2001

Rubble yields the bodies of 16 firefighters 1 f

Removal of giant steel beams had cleared way for searchers; remains of firefighters found in a collapsed stairwell i

By HEIDI 51NGER see what’s inside,” said the Rev. Alfred Thomp- , ADVANCE CITY HALL BUREAU son, senior chaplain of the Fire Department. Rev. Thompson said more bodies have been I discovered in the past two-and-a-half days than ’ The removal of some of the giant steel beams in the previous 10. The movement of some larg- from the rubble of the World Trade Center has er beams in the wreckage has helped workers 1 aided rescue workers in their grim task of lo­ locate remains, he said. “We’re finding a lot of j cating bodies, according to reports. stuff in there ... It's not a happy sight,” said con­ The bodies of 16 firefighters were recovered struction worker John Yannucci. He said crews yesterday, found in a stairwell between the ru­ were hampered by hot spots in the still-smoking ins of the Marriott hotel and Tower 2 after a' ruins. ] ' number, of girders had been cleared away, al- Despite the gruesome discoveries, families, de- I ( though Fire Department officials would not con­ spairing of ever receiving remains; are going ' firm the report. ahead with memorial services in place of tradi- ' But according to a number of sources, fire- tional funerals. , 1 fighters stood in silence with their helmets re- “Whether they want to proceed is really a per- । ' - moved as each body was taken away in a flag- sonal decision to make," said Richard Sheirer, ' I draped body bag. Some wept openly. Some of­ the Dongan Hills resident who is director of the ! fered prayers for their fallen comrades. Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management i “It looks like we found 16 of our guys,’’ a Fire (OEM). “Whatever decision they make, we’ll sup- i ! Department official said. port them 100 percent.” Work was halted as calls were reportedly put Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota an- , in to the dead men’s firehouses and their fellow nounced yesterday that traffic volume across ( fire brothers were summoned to help remove the Manhattan bridges plummeted due to last week’s bodies from the debris. The department would ban on single-occupancy vehicles entering Man- j not confirm reports that a fire captain’s body hattan below 64th Street. The number of cars ( was one of those recovered. crossing the Brooklyn Bridge declined by 75 per­ The number of bodies recovered, listed at 314 cent, he said, and traffic volume overall fell 34 on Sunday, climbed to 344 overall yesterday. percent. ; The Police Department's list of missing persons Beginning yesterday at 6 p.m., Lower Man- remained at 5,219. “Now they’ve moved the steel, so now we can PLEASE SEE SEARCH, PAPiP * "

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NYC-WTC_000230650