Two fragments that could be human remains were found on the first day of sifting debris from construction sites around the World Trade Center site in a renewed effort to find 9/11 victims, officials said Tuesday.
The two pieces were found Monday in the first day of a 10-week sifting operation. The city has collected about 60 dump truck loads of debris from construction areas around the trade center site over the past two and a half years that is now being examined for remains.
The debris was collected from the World Financial Center, West Street and a lot near Liberty Street since the last sifting operation in mid-2010.
The material amounts to 590 cubic yards -- 38 from the WTC, 13 from the western edge of the southbound lanes of West Street and 539 from the Liberty Street area, where four pieces of possible human remains have already been found.
Any human remains will be analyzed by the medical examiner's office for possible matches to 9/11 victims. Of the 2,750 people killed at the trade center, 1,634 have had remains identified.