The mournful toll of a firehouse bell, an empty stretcher and a solemn procession on Thursday will mark the end of the recovery of ruins and human remains from the pit where the World Trade Center once stood.New Yorkers, still coping with the staggering loss of thousands of civilians and emergency staff in the September 11 hijacked plane attacks on the twin towers, reached a compromise to honour those killed and the herculean recovery effort at what became known as ‘‘Ground Zero.’’Lt. John Ryan of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department, which lost 37 members in the attacks, said he had ‘‘mixed emotions’’ about Thursday’s symbolic ceremony ending eight months of gruelling, sorrowful work. ‘‘I realise at this point a lot of the people who were lost here may not be recovered but I also look at it from the standpoint that it has been a tremendous effort to get to the point we’re at,’’ Ryan said.The ceremony, which officials expect will draw tens of thousands to lower Manhattan, will last just 20 minutes from 10:29 am (1429 GMT), marking the minute when the second of the 110-story buildings collapsed in a heap of crushed concrete, steel and glass.The details of the ceremony, including the ringing of the New York Fire Department bell in 5-5-5-5 code — the traditional signal in firehouses for a fallen fire fighter — took months of planning and sometimes sparked fierce debate.The bells will be followed by an honour guard of city, state and federal agencies flanking a procession walking up a ramp from the site, carrying a stretcher with an American flag to symbolise those who were killed but not found. Police and fire department pipers and drummers will march behind the stretcher before a truck draped with a black cloth is driven up the ramp.After Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the date of the ceremony two weeks ago, some relatives said they were displeased it was being held on a weekday.(Reuters)
