NYC authorities identify two new 9/11 victims

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
NYC authorities identify two new 9/11 victims

Emblem of the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, which has been working to identify victims of the 9/11 attacks. NYC OCME/Logo

Sept. 11 (ZFJ) — The 1,648th and 1,649th victims from the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, have been identified, announced the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner on Friday, Sept. 8.

These two victims are the first new identifications of 9/11 victims since September 2021. About 1,104 victims, or 40% of the 2,753 who died, remain unidentified.

This year, the OCME also identified 60 human remains connected to previously identified individuals.

The medical examiner’s office recently adopted newer, faster, and more sensitive DNA sequencing technology, also used by the U.S. military, to bolster its identification efforts after over two decades of negative testing attempts.

“More than 20 years after the disaster, these two new identifications continue to fulfill a solemn pledge that OCME made to return the remains of World Trade Center victims to their loved ones,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham.

He described the identification operation as “the largest and most complex forensic investigation in the history of our country.”

The man’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001, while the woman’s identity was established through remains recovered in 2001, 2006, and 2013.

The names of the man and woman are being withheld at the request of their families.

References