Crews working in the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center have begun assembling giant cranes capable of lifting hundreds of tons of debris at a time.
The delicate search continues for victims of the terrorist attacks. But with the powerful cranes - one 420-feet high and with a base the size of a basketball court - workers will be able to remove more debris and larger chunks blocking access to parts of the wreckage.
"Every day we come down here, another 50 feet off the pile is gone," said Mr Brian Bowman (26) a Verizon worker restoring phone services near the site.
The official number of people missing in the rubble dropped to 5,960 yesterday. Mayor Mr Rudolph Giuliani said the number was lowered after a recheck of victim lists.
As debris is cleared from the 16-acre site, human remains continue to be removed for identification. Forensic scientists say the majority of remains collected will be identified, mostly through DNA comparisons. So far, 305 deaths have been confirmed.
Dr Robert Shaler, chief of forensic biology in the New York City medical examiner's office, said most victims examined died from "blunt trauma".
He said others died from burns, smoke inhalation and injuries from sharp debris and that some were crushed by falling debris.
AP