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New Yorkers Mourn WTC Victims
The 57,000-seat Yankee Stadium here became a place of prayer on Sunday for those who lost their lives in the September 11 World Trade Center (WTC) tragedy caused by terrorist attacks.
Tens of thousands of people attended the interfaith prayer service, joined by New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani, state governor George Pataki, former U.S. president now New York citizen Bill Clinton.
Before family members of the victims and citizens from around the city, an army of clergy was standing at the podium, led by leaders of local Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu religions.
Among other songs sung to boost people's morale for recovery and reconstruction, the one called "We Shall Overcome" and performed by Harlem Boys & Girls Choir made many attendants emotional and teary.
Two hijacked passenger planes hit and toppled the twin towers of the 110-story WTC, left thousands presumed dead. Some 6,333 are officially listed missing beneath the rubble, with another 261 confirmed dead, of which 194 are identified. Rescue workers have gone on their mission of finding more alive, but the hope goes slim.
Some 90,000 tons of debris have been removed despite a huge pile of twisted steel, concrete, dust and broken glass still remaining.
The WTC disaster was part of a terrorist plot in which a similar attack was launched on the Pentagon building in Washington DC and the fourth highjacked plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania the same day. All 266 aboard the planes were killed, in addition to 189 reported missing at Pentagon.
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