9/11 victims finally identified nearly 20 years on

Remains of two more 9/11 victims identified, thanks to advanced DNA technology

The Tribute In Light shines into the sky from Lower Manhattan during a test. Getty Images / AFP

The remains of two more victims of 9/11 have been identified, thanks to advanced DNA technology, New York officials announced on Tuesday, days before the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

The office of the city's chief medical examiner said it had formally identified the 1,646th and 1,647th victims of Al Qaeda's attacks on New York's World Trade Centre, which killed 2,753 people.

They are the first identifications of victims from the collapse of the Twin Towers since October 2019.

"Twenty years ago, we made a promise to the families of World Trade Centre victims to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones, and with these two new identifications, we continue to fulfil that sacred obligation," chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson said.

"No matter how much time passes since September 11, 2001, we will never forget, and we pledge to use all the tools at our disposal to make sure all those who were lost can be reunited with their families," she said.

The 1,646th victim was identified as Dorothy Morgan, of Hempstead, Long Island. Her identity was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001, the examiner's office said.

The other identification was a man whose name is being withheld at the request of his family. His identification was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001, 2002 and 2006, the examiner's office said.

US Vice President Dick Cheney in the President's Emergency Operations Centre at the White House on September 11, 2001, the day of the terrorist attacks. US National Archives

Secretary of State Colin Powell, right, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in the President's Emergency Operations Centre on September 11, 2001. US National Archives

US Ambassador to Iraq Paul Bremer signs the Iraqi Sovereignty document transferring full governmental authority to the Iraqi Interim Government, in Baghdad, on June 28, 2004. Mr Bremer was tapped by the Bush administration to become the top US civilian in Iraq following the invasion. US Air Force

CIA Director George Tenet listens to President George W Bush's address after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. US National Archives

President Bush meets Mr Tenet, Vice President Cheney and Ms Rice on October 7, 2001 at the White House, the day the US invaded Afghanistan as a response to the 9/11 attacks. George W Bush Presidential Library

Presidential Envoy Paul Bremer, left, briefs Donald H. Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defence, in Iraq, in 2003. Department of Defence

US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz addresses the media after touring the Rabia Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 15, 2003. US Army

Rudy Giuliani, seen here speaking at a rally, was Mayor of New York when the 9/11 attacks took place. Reuters

Former Special Agent John O’Neill retired from the FBI in August 2001 to lead security at the World Trade Centre. Although he escaped from his office in the North Tower after it was struck by terrorist hijackers on 9/11, he died helping others escape when the tower collapsed. Photo: FBI

Richard Clarke worked with both the Clinton and Bush administrations to combat Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Speaking before the 9/11 Commission in 2004, Mr Clarke told the families of the victims that their government failed them. The National

Former President Bill Clinton appeared on Australian TV 10 hours before the 9/11 attacks and said that he was obsessed with Osama bin Laden and that he almost killed him. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

The medical examiner described the painstaking push to identify every victim as "the largest and most complex forensic investigation in the history of the United States".

The office said new identifications 20 years after the tragedy were being made possible by advances in DNA science.

Its laboratory uses advanced testing to match DNA fragments from victims with samples provided by relatives.

The medical examiner's office said its recent adoption of next-generation DNA sequencing technology meant further identifications were likely.

About 1,106 victims, or 40 per cent of those who died, have yet to be identified.