Suspected Body Parts From 9/11 Are Found

Nine pieces of bone and muscle have been discovered a block from the World Trade Center site and were being tested to determine if they belong to a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks, authorities said Tuesday.

Workers found the remains on Monday afternoon as they were renovating a building at 90 West St. that was badly damaged in the attacks, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city’s medical examiner.

“The possibility exists that they are from the World Trade Center,” Borakove said.

Investigators will use DNA testing. They hope to be able to make an identification in the next few weeks, she said.

Police said the remains were found on scaffolding that was erected before the attacks along the 20th floor of the 25-story.

The building is south of where the trade center’s south tower stood.

The remains of 1,518 victims have been identified, while more than 12,000 remains, some as small as bone chips or teeth, are still unidentified, mostly because the DNA used to identify bodies is badly damaged, authorities said.

Human remains were found blocks from the devastated towers that were struck by two hijacked commercial jetliners and collapsed. Remains were found as recently as June, Borakove said.