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Roundup: Bush Tours New York Amid Tense Rescue Work on WTC Site
Roundup: Bush Tours New York Amid Tense Rescue Work on WTC Site
U.S. President George W. Bush toured the site of the destructed twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) Friday, as tense rescue and search work continued three days after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
Arriving from Washington aboard Air Force One escorted by fighter jets, the president first took a helicopter bird view of Lower Manhattan. He then toured the site on foot, where firefighters were continuing to dig and remove mammoth ruins piled after the collapse of the towers, despite rain.
They greeted Bush by chanting "U.S.A.," while he praised them for "making our nation proud" through hard work. The firefighters have been the backbone of the rescue work, many of them lost their lives on duty with some 300 reported missing.
No survivors have been found on Friday, though five people were pulled alive from the ruins the day before. More than 10,000 tons of rubble have been taken away as of Thursday, according to city mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The president on Friday declared a national emergency, citing a "continuing and immediate threat" to the country after the worst terrorist attacks in history.
Earlier in Washington, Bush led four former presidents and nation in prayer, calling on fellow countrymen to comfort the families of the 5,000 feared dead in the tragedy.
The U.S. was in a day of mourning on Friday, declared a national day of prayers and remembrance. Most of the victims are still under the mammoth debris whose removal takes weeks to complete.
Death toll of the WTC tragedy soared to 184 Friday, with official estimates standing at "thousands". First recovery reported tens of body parts as some of the victims had been demolished during the sudden collapse of the buildings.
Two hijacked passenger planes rammed 110-story WTC twin towers on Tuesday, a third crashed into the western end of the Pentagon building in Washington and another plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. All 266 people on board the planes were killed.
In Congress, the House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in approving 40 billion U.S. dollar emergency spending in aid to help the victims and "hunt down the perpetrators" of the disaster.
Amid an intensive investigation move, authorities released the names of the 19 hijackers involved in Tuesday's attacks. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched worldwide for possible suspects who had recent flight training, ties to the hijackers or their backers, or attempted to enter the U.S. recently.
In New York, three major airports reopened for domestic travel after 11:00 a.m. Friday. American airliners with international flights bound for the U.S. were allowed to land and take off at the airports. Foreign carriers will not be cleared to fly into the airports until they and the airports meet the government's new security measures.
The airports along with those across the country were reopened Thursday under tougher security for the first time since the attacks.
But air traffic was suspended at New York, where 10 people were detained at JFK International Airport and La Guardia Airport Thursday evening. They were freed later as they did not have any connection with the attacks, authorities said.
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