Pentagon Rescue Efforts Scaled Back
Rescue Workers May Find 'Some Grisly Things' Under Debris
POSTED: 10:00 a.m. EDT September 19, 2001
WASHINGTON -- The search and recovery effort at the Pentagon is being scaled back, one week after a hijacked jetliner slammed into it.
The Arlington, Va., fire chief said there's less room for people to work efficiently as more debris is removed.
About 150 civilian rescue workers from the Washington suburbs have been sent home. They were among the first on the scene last Tuesday.
One of them says their replacements will probably find "some grisly things" under the debris.
Another 150 rescue workers from Virginia Beach, Va., and Memphis, Tenn., are to be sent home within 48 hours.
A crew from Albuquerque, N.M., and an Army detail will continue the recovery effort. It's expected to take another week to 10 days.
Officials say the attack killed 189 people, including a woman who died of burns early today. Of those, Pentagon officials say the remains of about 100 people have been removed. Eleven of those have been identified.
Although hope is fading of finding any of the victims alive, workers say they'll continue to hold out hope.
Workers used heavy equipment overnight to remove tons of debris from last Tuesday's terrorist attack, in which a passenger plane was crashed into a section of the U.S. military's headquarters.
Two floors of the section have been revealed as debris is hauled away. Officials say the effort could continue for 10 days or more.
Army Lt. Col. George Rhynedance said recovery crews continue to make progress -- even though the area remains hazardous.
He also said he's been amazed at the corporations who have contributed to the rescue effort with donations of food and supplies.
A makeshift memorial was erected near the Pentagon by relatives and friends of those killed Tuesday. Busloads of those who knew the victims brought bouquets, mementos and red, white and blue balloons. They placed them on a flatbed truck parked near the Pentagon.
Rescuers said they only become aware of what they are seeing during breaks -- when they're sharing a meals or taking a rare quiet moment. They say they spend a lot of time "trying to block things
out." Grief counselors are on hand to aid the workers.
The four hijacked planes in Tuesday's attack held a total of 266 people, none of whom survived.
"The chances of finding anyone alive is very, very small," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said of the rescue effort at the World Trade Center.
But he adds workers at the site of last week's terrorist attacks still think of themselves as conducting a rescue operation.
Giuliani says they're still hoping and praying, but that he can't offer any "substantial hope" that anyone will be found alive.
No survivors have been located since Wednesday -- the day after the terrorist attacks.
Giuliani said that 218 people are now confirmed dead from the World Trade Center attack, and that 152 of them have been identified. More than 5,000 people are still missing.
Giuliani says nearly 5,000 tons of debris have been hauled from the site.
One top police official said Monday that searchers aren't finding bodies any more -- only body parts. Three hundred firefighters are among those lost. On Sunday, the city promoted 168 firefighters.
Rescue crews have been carefully picking through the ruins one floor below the World Trade Center.
As they make their way through the darkened underground wreckage, they're marking the sections they've searched with an orange "X."
A FEMA official says there are caverns in the rubble where people could have survived after the collapse.
Hospitals treating the injured from the World Trade Center attacks said that there's no injured person who hasn't been identified.
A spokesman for Bellevue Hospital Center said, "We've got a handle on everyone who's here."
The same held true at St. Vincent's Hospital and others treating the injured.
People searching for loved ones have been plastering photographs of the missing on walls and windows around town, in the hopes that someone may have seen them and will get in touch with information.
Flight 93 was the fourth plane to crash in last week's coordinated terrorist attacks. It went down about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Government officials suspect the hijackers had been aiming for a high-profile target in Washington -- but were thwarted by some courageous passengers on board.
Family members say loved ones called them from the jetliner and were told of the World Trade Center attacks -- so they decided to fight the hijackers.
First lady Laura Bush, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and other officials attended a memorial service Monday near the crash site.
Giuliani: Slim Chances Of Finding Anyone Alive
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is preparing people for the worst."The chances of finding anyone alive is very, very small," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said of the rescue effort at the World Trade Center.
But he adds workers at the site of last week's terrorist attacks still think of themselves as conducting a rescue operation.
Giuliani says they're still hoping and praying, but that he can't offer any "substantial hope" that anyone will be found alive.
No survivors have been located since Wednesday -- the day after the terrorist attacks.
Giuliani said that 218 people are now confirmed dead from the World Trade Center attack, and that 152 of them have been identified. More than 5,000 people are still missing.
Giuliani says nearly 5,000 tons of debris have been hauled from the site.
One top police official said Monday that searchers aren't finding bodies any more -- only body parts. Three hundred firefighters are among those lost. On Sunday, the city promoted 168 firefighters.
Rescue crews have been carefully picking through the ruins one floor below the World Trade Center.
As they make their way through the darkened underground wreckage, they're marking the sections they've searched with an orange "X."
A FEMA official says there are caverns in the rubble where people could have survived after the collapse.
Hospitals: All Injured Are Identified
Hospitals treating the injured from the World Trade Center attacks said that there's no injured person who hasn't been identified.
A spokesman for Bellevue Hospital Center said, "We've got a handle on everyone who's here."
The same held true at St. Vincent's Hospital and others treating the injured.
People searching for loved ones have been plastering photographs of the missing on walls and windows around town, in the hopes that someone may have seen them and will get in touch with information.
Pennsylvania Crash Victims' Families Visit Site
Six busloads of mourners have left the site of the United Airlines crash in Pennsylvania last week. As they arrived Monday in a caravan of buses, state troopers standing and on horseback saluted the grieving families.Flight 93 was the fourth plane to crash in last week's coordinated terrorist attacks. It went down about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Government officials suspect the hijackers had been aiming for a high-profile target in Washington -- but were thwarted by some courageous passengers on board.
Family members say loved ones called them from the jetliner and were told of the World Trade Center attacks -- so they decided to fight the hijackers.
First lady Laura Bush, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and other officials attended a memorial service Monday near the crash site.
Copyright 2002 by Lifewhile.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
