Unknown victims to remain at Ground Zero

The unidentified remains of more than 1,000 victims of the September 11 World Trade Centre attacks are to be stored at the site until scientific advances allow them to be named.

More than 12,000 body parts will be stored in a memorial at New York's Ground Zero at the requests of many relatives of those who died in the 2001 terror strike.

The remains are to be dried, then individually vacuum-sealed in opaque white pouches.

The procedure means memorial designers will not have to include a refrigeration or freezer system in the tribute.

Shiya Ribowsky, from the New York coroner's office, said it was a respectful and practical way to care for the remains in perpetuity.

"Our job isn't to inter them and forget about them," she told the New York Times.

"Our job is to inter them and, if technology changes in the future and we have a better chance to identify them, we will have to keep and preserve the remains in such a way that we can use that new technology."

Almost half of the 2,792 people killed in the attack have still not been identified, and the limits of DNA technology mean there is little chance any new identifications can be made in the near future.

The competition to design a memorial for the victims of the World Trade Centre has received 5,000 entries. The winner is to be selected in the autumn.