The Scene

In New York, More Bodies, Months of Work Ahead

Workers in a crane bucket use torches to cut away pieces of the last remaining standing portions of the facade of the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers. Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar

October 2001 -- Nearly a month after the deadly terrorist attacks, there are real signs that Americans are going about their lives as close to normal as possible -- but it's also clear that some things will never be the same again.

It's expected to take months to clear away the tons of rubble at the World Trade Center site. Scenes like this one Oct. 5 are all too common: Workers saluted as another body was removed from the World Trade Center rubble. The body was covered with an American flag as a half-dozen firefighters removed a stretcher from what used to be the north tower of the complex.

A Pew Research Center for the People and the Press poll released Oct. 5 finds Americans are slowly recovering from the shock of the terrorist attacks, and at least 40 percent say they are depressed. A full quarter of those surveyed say they are having trouble concentrating at work. And three out of four of those surveyed worry that the attacks against U.S. targets are not over.

Dead or missing as of Oct. 5: • New York City -- 4,986 missing, 380 confirmed dead. Includes those on hijacked planes: American Flight 11 with 92, United Flight 175 with 65. • Washington, D.C. -- 189 believed killed. Includes those on hijacked planes: American Flight 77 with 64. • Pennsylvania -- United Flight 93, 44 killed

New York City officials hired people to make sure corruption doesn't disrupt recovery efforts at the World Trade Center. Monitors will track equipment and personnel -- an effort a city commissioner says is to protect against "organized crime or any other insidious interests." Amazingly, there are still "hot spots" in the rubble and workers continue to spray water on smoldering debris as they dig for bodies.

On the other side of the globe, relief efforts are underway to mitigate the huge humanitarian crisis sparked by the continuing exodus from Afghanistan. The World Food Program began transporting the first of thousands of tons of desperately needed grain into Afghanistan. Much of the food aid will be shipped from cities on the Pakistani border, and the United States could begin air drops of ready-to-eat meals near refugee camps. Afghanistan is also suffering from four years of drought.

• Read about efforts to rebuild St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

• Read about the Trade Center's tenants.

• See the tenant list of North Tower and South Tower
of the World Trade Center Complex.

• Learn the history of the World Trade Center.

• Learn the history of the Pentagon.