Victims’ relatives have been marking the 14th anniversary of the September 11th attacks at a gathering in New York.
A moment of silence was held and names of the victims were read out during the memorial event at Ground Zero.
Hundreds of relatives - fewer than attended the ceremonies in their early years - gathered, carrying photos emblazoned with the names of their loved ones who died when hijacked planes hit the World Trade Centre’s twin towers, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Some 3,000 people died in the attacks.
“We come every year. The crowds get smaller, but we want to be here. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll be here,” said Tom Acquaviva (81), who lost his son Paul who was in the World Trade Centre’s north tower.
For Nereida Valle, who lost her daughter, Nereida De Jesus, “It’s the same as if it was yesterday. I feel her every day.”
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out of the White House at 8.46am - when the first plane hit the north tower - to observe a moment of silence.
The Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania was marking the completion of its visitor centre, which opened to the public on Thursday.
At the Pentagon, defence secretary Ash Carter and other officials joined remembrances for victims’ relatives and Pentagon employees.
After years of private commemorations at Ground Zero, the anniversary has also become an occasion for public reflection on the site of the terror attacks.
About 20,000 people visited the memorial plaza on the evening of September 11th last year, the first year the public was able to visit on the anniversary.
“When we did open it up, it was just like life coming in,” National September 11th Memorial and Museum president Joe Daniels said this week.
The memorial was reserved for victims’ relatives and other invitees during the morning ceremony but “the general public that wants to come and pay their respects on this most sacred ground should be let in as soon as possible” can do so later, he said.
PA