Remains of two 9/11 victims identified days before 20th anniversary of attacks

The remains of Dorothy Morgan were identified this week Credit: AP

The remains of two 9/11 victims have been identified just days before the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) revealed they had identified the remains of Dorothy Morgan and a man whose family requested his name not be published.

Morgan is the 1,646th person to be identified through ongoing DNA analysis of unidentified remains recovered from the disaster that claimed the lives of 2,753 people.

Morgan worked as a broker for Marsh & McLennan and lived in Hempstead on Long Island. She was 47 when she died.

Credit: AP
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Some 1,106 victims, or around 40% of those who died, remain unidentified.

Dr. Barbara Sampson, Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York said: "Twenty years ago, we made a promise to the families of World Trade Center victims to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones, and with these two new identifications, we continue to fulfill that sacred obligation.

"No matter how much time passes since September 11, 2001, we will never forget, and we pledge to use all the tools at our disposal to make sure all those who were lost can be reunited with their families."The identification of Morgan was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001 in the aftermath of the attack.The two identifications are the first new ones since October 2019.

The remains of over 1,000 people still have not been identified. Credit: AP

The discovery was aided by advances in DNA-sequencing science called Next Generation Sequencing, and the OCME believes it will lead to further identifications.

The new technology is more sensitive and rapid than conventional DNA identification techniques and has been used by the US military to identify the remains of American service members.

It is hoped the new method will be able to name the remains of people who have previously been marked as unidentifiable, but it is likely some will never be identified.

All of the unidentified remains are currently being stored at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site.

The lion's share of identifications - around 800 - have been done through DNA sequencing, with the rest done by dental records or other methods.