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American Morning

Ceremony to Mark End of 9/11 Landfill Search

Aired July 15, 2002 - 07:32   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back here in New York, you're going to have an emotional and painstaking day, particularly at the landfill called the Fresh Kills Landfill. That will end this morning ten months after the attacks of 9/11. More than 1.6 million tons of rubble from Ground Zero was brought to this site where thousands of workers sifted through it, looking for the tiniest traces of human remains and lost possessions.

Jason Carroll standing by there on Staten Island, and joins us now with a preview of the ceremony which will happen in the last half hour of our show this morning -- good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Paula. Again, another sad chapter coming to an end here in New York City.

As you said, this is the spot where all of the debris from the World Trade Center basically ended up. More than one-and-a-half million tons of debris, in fact, ended up here at the Fresh Kills Landfill. Detectives and workers from all over the country worked around the clock, sifting through the debris, to help search for remains. Down at Ground Zero, we heard so much about the firefighters who were there and all of their dedication and their hard work that they had to deal with in terms of the -- over the past several months.

The workers here worked just as hard. They were just as dedicated here. They spent much of their time searching the debris by hand. In fact, this morning, a chaplain that was out here told us that, basically, these workers have been through an emotional roller coaster. They are tired, but they were dedicated to the work at hand.

Two thousand eight hundred twenty-three people died during The World Trade Center disaster. The medical examiner expects to identify 2,000 of them. That work will continue, even though the operation, here, is shutting down.

There will be a special ceremony that will start at about 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. Mayor Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, will speak, as well as Governor George Pataki. The police commissioner will be out here. He will be speaking, as well. All the speaking will start after the national anthem is played.

The ceremony is expected to be relatively short. It's expected to last just about a half hour, but it is expected to be very emotional -- Paula.

ZAHN: You know, you mentioned some of the dignitaries that will be there later this morning. How many family members are expected of people who lost their lives at the World Trade Centers?

CARROLL: We do know that some of the family members are expected to be here, as well, as you can imagine, for many of the family members that are going to be showing up here. This is about trying to receive some sort of closure, so some of the family members will be here, as well. In terms of a number, though, can't say just at this point.

ZAHN: It's tough to see that shot behind you and what it represents. Jason, thanks. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning.

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