New York, United States

More than two decades after the tragic September 11 attacks on the United States claimed the lives of close to 3,000 people, DNA analysis has identified the 22-year-old remains of two people who died in the World Trade Center collapse.

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Victim identification

As per an AFP report, the identity of the two victims, a man and a woman, has been withheld from the press at the request of their families.

With this, the number of 9/11 victims to have been identified has reached 1,649, stated the city's mayor and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). 

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A total of 2,753 people lost their lives when al-Qaeda operatives crashed two hijacked civilian passenger airliners into New York's Twin Towers. The total number of lives claimed by the day's terror attack as per the news agency was 2,977.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a statement released late Friday said: "We hope these new identifications can bring some measure of comfort to the families of these victims, and the ongoing efforts by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner attest to the city’s unwavering commitment to reunite all the World Trade Center victims with their loved ones."

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How were the remains identified?

As per the news agency report, the two victims were identified through the use of "next-generation sequencing technology — more sensitive and rapid than conventional DNA techniques." Their remains were collected years ago.

Before this, the last two 9/11 attack victim identifications were made about two years back, in 2021. To date, 1,104 victims remain unidentified, and the progress in establishing their identities has been agonizingly slow.

Why is identification taking so long?

The 2001 tragedy claimed thousands of lives. Collapsing with a deafening roar, two towers of the trade centre — first the south tower and then the north one — disintegrated with choking grey dust after the airliners crashed into them.

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What rained down upon those around the site of the tragedy was a deluge of fire and twisted steel. The scale of violence was so extreme that even 22 years later, hundreds of those missing still have no identifiable trace.

Every year, the tragedy is commemorated in New York on September 11.

(With inputs from agencies)

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