3 more bone fragments recovered in 2nd manhole at World Trade Center site

Monday, November 6th 2006, 8:07 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) Workers found three bone fragments in a second manhole at the World Trade Center site, close to where about 200 bones had already been recovered, officials said Monday.

The bone pieces, 1 to 2 inches long, were recovered Saturday along a service road on the site's western edge, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office. They were the first pieces of remains recovered from the site in more than a week.

Officials have said they are searching 12 manholes and other underground areas along the road that they said were missed during the initial recovery of body parts after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Workers recovered 199 pieces of remains in the first manhole they searched, but found none in another manhole and a utility service box, Borakove said.

She said the manhole where the remains were found on Saturday is directly across from the manhole where utility workers accidentally discovered bones on October 19th.

Since then, the city has ordered a search of the service road, another area near a subway line under excavation at the site, in manholes along dozens of blocks near ground zero, on two rooftops and at three buildings.

Borakove said none of the 202 pieces of remains has been matched to any of the 2,749 people killed on September 11th, although forensic experts have said the bones found underground are in good condition and could yield positive identifications soon.

More than 40 percent of the trade center victims have never been identified.