FBI turns Pentagon crash site over to
Army for rebuilding, renovation phase
By Lisa Burgess,
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation turned over formal responsibility
for the Pentagon crash site to the U.S. Army Military District of Washington on Tuesday,
Pentagon officials said.
The transfer gave employees an opportunity to begin retrieving some of their personal
belongings from damaged offices, said Army Lt. Col. George Rhynedance, a Pentagon
spokesman.
"What you’re seeing here is a transition from the sterile, sealed crime scene
investigation into a renovation and rebuilding phase," Rhynedance said.
Small groups of Pentagon employees — mainly from the Army, whose offices received
the bulk of the damage in the Sept. 11 attack — lined up in the courtyard on Tuesday,
waiting to get into their abandoned offices to search for lost items.
"Some people left without even taking their wallets," Rhynedance said.
The FBI will continue to search for clues to the attack, but most of their focus will
now be on sifting through the mountain of debris that firefighters and rescue personnel
have transferred from the crash site to the Pentagon’s north parking lot, Rhynedance
said.
Approximately 10,000 tons of debris has been removed during the rescue and recovery
efforts at the Pentagon, according to officials at the Military District of Washington.
The Military District of Washington also has responsibility now for ongoing security
operations around the damaged area.
Pentagon officials now begin the enormous job of repairing the damaged spaces, a task
that will take at least two years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the mean time, the search continues for some of the 125 Pentagon employees and 64
aircraft passengers who were killed in the attack. Another woman initially survived, but
later died of her injuries.
Army forensic scientists have positively identified 78 victims out of 118 remains that
have been located in the wreckage and transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Del. "We
still have hopes of finding more remains in some of the [damaged] spaces," Rhynedance
said.
Back to September stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from August, 2001
Stories from July, 2001
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
