Monday 23 October 2006

Ground zero construction continues, possibly on top of undiscovered remains

The AP reports:
Searchers who have yet to unearth more than half the underground sites apparently overlooked during the initial excavation of ground zero have uncovered more than 100 pieces of human remains believed to belong to Sept. 11 victims....ranging from tiny fragments to recognizable bones from skulls, torsos, feet and hands — some as large as whole arm and leg bones.

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler, who is overseeing the recovery effort, said officials had identified additional manholes and utility cavities at the World Trade Center site that need to be examined.

The team of searchers expects to burrow into at least 12 subterranean areas in coming days. About five have been excavated.
...some below-ground cavities that had been used for utility and infrastructure purposes were paved over without being searched for remains.
...Skyler said the city will focus on finding remains before it reviews how the initial search was handled. He said construction at ground zero did not need to be halted to accommodate the search, but that officials would address the need if it arises.

Some Sept. 11 families, however, called for the rebuilding to stop until the recovery is finished.

"Their actions say remains are not a priority, they're secondary to the rebuilding," said Charles Wolf, who lost his wife and has never received any of her identified remains. "This is bringing up all the gnawing, gut-wrenching stuff inside us again."

I remember the hasty calls to normalcy, and the rush to design and start a new structure on the site. I thought it was too soon then, and this shows that it was. Why do we have to get everything back to 'normal' while remains are still out there to be found, when they haven't even looked everywhere they could have, but just paved over places before searching them? I thought it was disrepectful to leave the bodies of the deceased to decay in the elements. It seems that some in New York City don't agree.

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