Sept 11 attack victims remembered in silence

A man stands while another plays a flute at Ground Zero on Saturday in New York City. New Yorkers commemorated the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States that killed close to 3,000 people. PHOTO: AFP

President George W. Bush observed the hushed tribute on the lawn of the White House at 8:46 am (1246 GMT) -- the time the first hijacked plane smashed into the World Trade Centre.

At Ground Zero in New York, the focus of Sunday's commemorative events, friends and relatives of the victims, together with dignitaries, emergency workers and community leaders, also bowed their heads in remembrance.

"Again, we are a city that meets in sadness," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"We come here to remember the names of those we lost four years ago. The greatest honour we can do them is to remember them, not just as they were in death, but as they were in life," Bloomberg said.

After the minute's silence, the brothers and sisters of the victims began reading the 2,749 names of those who died in the trade centre's twin towers.

Ceremonies were also held at the Pentagon for the 184 people who died in the attack there, and in the field in Pennsylvania where a fourth airliner carrying 44 people crashed after passengers staged a rebellion against the hijackers.

America grieved the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, as the brothers and sisters of the dead gathered at ground zero yesterday to recite the names of those killed in the fiery attack.

The roll of the lost began with Gordon M. Aamoth Jr., an investment bank employee. Then, one after another, the names began to echo across the site where the World Trade Center towers collapsed four years ago in a nightmarish cloud of dust and debris.