9/11: Two victims identified on eve of attack anniversary

Two more victims of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center have been identified only days before the 22nd anniversary of the tragic event, according to a release by New York City's Chief Medical Examiner on September 8.

The individuals are victims 1,648 and 1,649 since the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. A total of 2,753 people were killed in the towers and planes, many of whom have yet to be identified.

While the names of the victims are being kept private at the request of their families, it was confirmed that the victims were a man and a woman. 

The last identifications made were in 2021.

The new identifications were made thanks to improved DNA technology operated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which has helped identify 60 individuals since the attack.

Official statements on the identification

“As we prepare to mark the anniversary of September 11, our thoughts turn to those we lost on that terrible morning and their families who continue to live every day with the pain of missing loved ones,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “We hope these new identifications can bring some measure of comfort to the families of these victims, and the ongoing efforts by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner attest to the city’s unwavering commitment to reunite all the World Trade Center victims with their loved ones. 

“More than 20 years after the disaster, these two new identifications continue to fulfill a solemn pledge that [the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner] made to return the remains of World Trade Center victims to their loved ones,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. “Faced with the largest and most complex forensic investigation in the history of our country, we stand undaunted in our mission to use the latest advances in science to serve this promise.”