Remains of three 9/11 victims identified more than 20 years after attacks
The remains of three 9/11 victims have been identified thanks to evolving DNA technology, New York City authorities have said.
Officials announced on Thursday that they have identified the remains of Ryan D. Fitzgerald, a 26-year-old currency trader, Barbara A Keating, a 72-year-old retired non-profit executive, and another woman, whose name is being kept private at her family’s request.
They were identified through now-improved DNA testing of remains found in the wreckage after the attack on 11 September 2001, New York’s medical examiner’s office said.
The remains of Keating and the woman were recovered in 2001, and Fitzgerald’s remains were recovered the following year.
Chief medical examiner Dr Jason Graham said in a statement: “Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time.”
“We continue this work as our way of honouring the lost.”
Ms Keating was on her way home to California on American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists and deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Her son, Paul Keating, told US media that genetic material from his mother’s hairbrush was matched to DNA samples from relatives.
Part of his mother’s ATM card was the only other trace of her ever recovered from the debris, he said.
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The 9//11 attacks saw two planes destroy the twin towers in New York, while a third crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth came down in Pennsylvania.
A total of 2,977 people were killed, 2,753 of whom were in New York. Around 1,100 victims remain unidentified, the medical examiner’s office said.
It has steadily identified more remains in the 24 years since 9/11 by retesting fragments as techniques have advanced.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said: “We hope the families receiving answers from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner can take solace in the city’s tireless dedication to this mission.”
