Over 6,800 now feared dead in US attacks

The number of people missing feared dead from the US terrorist attacks stands at 6,818 after 11 more bodies were found at the…

The number of people missing feared dead from the US terrorist attacks stands at 6,818 after 11 more bodies were found at the World Trade Centre.

New York Mayor Mr Rudolph Giuliani said the figure could change as officials cross check reports of missing people.

He has admitted it was "impossible" that groups of people will be rescued from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday told ireland.com the total figure of Irish people who perished in last week’s attacks in the US had not been finalised.

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"It is very difficult to be sure at the moment. It may take some time, but the total may well be in double figures."

Five Irish people have been officially confirmed dead in the attacks.

Mayor Giuliani insisted there was still a small chance of finding individual survivors but he said "the chance of recovering significant numbers of people who survived is impossible".

Survival experts say there is still a chance that people are trapped alive inside the debris of the twin towers, which collapsed last Tuesday after they were hit by two hijacked planes.

The number of people missing at the World Trade Centre is 6,333.

The confirmed death toll in the World Trade Centre now stands at 252, plus 189 from the Pentagon crash and 44 on the hijacked plane which crashed in Pennsylvania.