Unidentified remains from 9/11 return to Ground Zero

Unidentified remains from 9/11 return to Ground Zero

Forty-one percent of the remains from those killed at the World Trade center are currently unidentified.

According to The Associated Press, nearly 7,930 fragmentary remains of unidentified victims from the 9/11 attacks were transferred to the World Trade Center site Saturday morning.

A five-mile procession began at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and ended at Ground Zero where the remains will be held in an underground depository at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. This museum is slated to open on May 21. The caskets containing the victims, draped by U.S. flags, were accompanied by a motorcade of both police and firefighters.

As with any decision regarding victims of the attack, the move was met some scrutiny and controversy. A group of protesters came out with black cloths covering their mouths to symbolize those silenced in the decision-making process to place the remains in the depository. As the procession passed, protestors removed the black cloths as a sign of respect for the victims.

The protests stemmed from the fact that families of the victims were not involved in the decision to move the remains to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Some of the families felt the remains should be stored in an above-ground facility that is not part of a museum setting. Other families, in support of the decision, feel the underground depository is the best place to house the remains until technological advancements allow scientists to more easily identify these victims.

Family members of 9/11 victims will have free access to the museum and the repository.  The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will oversee the remains at their new location.

According to the New York Post, 41 percent of the remains from those killed at the World Trade center are currently unidentified. The total number of people killed at the World Trade Center was 2,753.

 

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