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American Morning

America Recovers: Crews Searching Rubble of WTC Find Two Steel Beams in Shape of Cross

Aired October 05, 2001 - 09:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some call a sign from above. Crews searching the rubble of the World Trade Center found two steel beams that have fallen in the shape of a cross during the collapse. Now it's become a symbol for the rescue workers.

CNN's Michael Okwu is near ground zero -- Michael.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, I've talked about those steel beams, which is very touching, but really, the major news in the last 24 hours here has been something of an investigation of sorts. The city has hired four private companies, all run by federal prosecutors, to basically monitor the contractors and the subcontractors who are working this site. Specifically, they're going to be conducting background checks on them and they're also going to be tracking their personnel, their equipment, and really particularly the debris that's being moved out of the site.

This announcement comes as a grand jury is investigating whether some of the debris removed from this site was diverted to scrap yards run and owned by the mob. Now more than 171,000 tons of debris was removed from here. It's also supposed to go to a landfill in nearby Staten Island where investigators can sift through and look for evidence and DNA.

You mentioned earlier taken the attack has taken a toll on the local economy. It's going to cost the city as much as $105 billion over the next two years; 115,000 jobs will be lost this year alone.

And to give you a sense of the wide ranging physical damage, again, thirteen million square feet of office space destroyed. That's equivalent to entire office inventory in Atlanta and Miami.

A touching memorial service yesterday, you mentioned, Miles. Rescue workers gathered around 18 by 12 foot beams found in the shape of a cross. A rescue worker saw it. And others like it he said two days after the attacks occurred, and just after pulling several people from the wreckage.

In the meantime, ground zero still smolders. There are still fires raging within. We were told yesterday by rescue worker that a very huge conflagration broke out yesterday because there are pockets of such intense heat. Of course 4,986 people are still missing and presumed dead. The death toll officially has risen to 380. Even though this was an area that has so much office space, the rescue workers aren't finding desks, they're not finding telephones. They're not finding hard equipment. They're just finding twisted steel beams. They're finding concrete. They're finding the occasional body, and acres and acres of dust -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Michael Okwu near ground zero, thank you very much.

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