New York

World Trade Center Victim Identified Nearly 16 Years After 9/11 Terror Attacks

He is the 1,641st victim of the 2,753 killed at the lower Manhattan site that day to be identified

What to Know

  • The name of the male victim has not been released; he is the 1,641st victim of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center to be identified
  • Monday's announcement marks the first time a Sept. 11 World Trade Center victim has been identified since March 2015
  • Roughly 1,112 victims -- about 40 percent of the 2,753 victims in the New York attacks -- have yet to be identified

More than 1,000 families are still waiting for their loved ones' remains to be positively identified from the Sept. 11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. On Monday, nearly 16 years later, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office confirmed one more victim.

His name was withheld at his family's request, the medical examiner's office said.

Monday's announcement marks the first time since March 2015 that a Sept. 11 World Trade Center victim has been positively confirmed.

The man's identity was confirmed through DNA retesting. He is the 1,641st victim of the 2,753 killed at the lower Manhattan site that day to be identified. The city says it is still working to identify the other 1,112 victims.

In 2013, authorities sifted through truckloads of debris unearthed by construction crews who were working on rebuilding the site. Potential remains of more than 20 victims were recovered.

New, more sensitive DNA technology was deployed earlier this year and helped make the latest identification after earlier testing produced no results, the medical examiner's office said.

As DNA testing advanced, so has the multimillion-dollar effort to connect more than 21,900 bits of remains to individual victims. Few full bodies were recovered after the giant towers burned and collapsed, and the effects of heat, bacteria and chemicals such as jet fuel made it all the more difficult to analyze the remains.

Over time, the medical examiner's office came to use a process that involves pulverizing the fragments to extract DNA, then comparing it to the office's collection of genetic material from victims or their relatives. Most of the DNA profiles generated belong to previously identified victims.

In some cases, scientists have gone back to the same bone fragment 10 or more times, hoping new technology will provide answers.

The 9/11 airliner attacks killed a total of nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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