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CNN Saturday Morning News

Number of Missing Persons in New York Rises to 6,333

Aired September 22, 2001 - 07:22   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: To the street now near ground zero, and CNN's Michael Okwu watching the rescue operation that continues 24-7 yet again today.

Michael, good morning.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good morning to you.

You know, it occurred to me that we've come to know this area as ground zero, and days after that we started hearing it referred to as ground hero, an obvious reference to the thousands of rescue workers who continue to toil over the site.

And now, as you talk to pedestrians on street level, you simply hear them refer to it as "the ruins." It's a sign, perhaps, of the increasing resignation just behind me. As the number of missing continues to rise, the hope continues to diminish. That number now stands at 6,333.

Last night, more heavy cranes were actually moved into the site, and that's important, because they were trying to keep the number of heavy material at a minimum so as to not upset anything on the -- on ground level, that is, anything that perhaps could have been potential life.

As one rescue worker put it to us, it's an unofficial acknowledgment that they won't find anyone alive.

Now, the New York City police commissioner has told CNN that they did recover the body of John O'Neill, who was a retired FBI agent who specialized in terrorism, and that he was on his first or second day as the new head of security at the World Trade Center. He was trying to help people at Tower Two when he died.

Rescue workers tell us that they continue to work on 12-hour shifts, 12 hours on, 12 hours off. They have now moved out, carted away, more than 76,000 tons of rubble. As one rescue worker put it to us, "You know, I'm working on a 60-acre site, what looks like a 60- acre site, and we've only touched about 1 or 2 percent of it" -- Bill.

HEMMER: Michael Okwu, down on the streets of Manhattan. Michael, thank you. We'll be checking in throughout the morning with you.

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