Los Angeles Times: More Bodies Found at Trade Center

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-firefighters0102jan02.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnation%2Dheadlines

More Bodies Found at Trade Center
By Associated Press

January 2 2002, 9:47 AM PST

NEW YORK -- The bodies of 10 firefighters and three civilians were pulled from
the rubble of the World Trade Center as excavation crews opened up the lobby of
one of the collapsed towers, a firefighters union spokesman said Wednesday.

"Those lower floors are now 30 feet below ground," said Tom Da Parma of the
Uniformed Firefighters Association. He said the building's steel beams collapsed
in such a way that pockets were created, and that is where many of the bodies
have been found.

None of the 13 bodies, all discovered between midnight and 8 a.m. on New Year's
Day, had been identified Wednesday morning.

Da Parma said the excavation of the disaster site is bringing workers to an area
of the lobby where many people were trapped when the twin towers collapsed on
Sept. 11.

"A lot of firefighters just would not leave that area while people were still
trying to get out," he said.

Da Parma estimated that the bodies of 130 of the 343 firefighters missing in the
terrorist attack had been identified.

The discovery comes amid reports that the Fire Department is prohibiting
firefighters from leaving their companies to go to the site and carry away their
fallen comrades. The ban seeks to maintain order at the site, as well as provide
protection in communities around the city.

Da Parma said the union is talking with department officials about the policy.
Fire Department spokesman Francis X. Gribbon did not return a call seeking
comment.

At the disaster site, two large demolition cranes are scheduled to be dismantled
this week. Six smaller cranes and cherry pickers are expected to remain.

More than half of the 1.2 million tons of debris has been cleared.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press