Death tally of Irish and British nationals may rise

As the United States of America braces itself for war, New York fire and police services meanwhile have had the unenviable task of trying to recover and identify the dead from amid the ruin and wreckage that once was the World Trade Centre twin towers.

To date, the number of people missing has been estimated at 5,097, with an additional 180 bodies found dead at the scene – 115 of which have been identified.

As the full extent of the terrorist attacks begins to unfold, the number of those missing from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland has still yet to be fully assessed.

To date only three Irish people have been confirmed dead, with 20 people still missing. The Dublin Department of Foreign Affairs, however, has warned that the final grim tally will rise to double figures.

The three Irish nationals are known to have been all on board the planes from Boston that were deliberately crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

Ruth Clifford (44) from County Cork died alongside her four old daughter Juliana, and Patrick Currivan (52) from Dublin. A fourth person included in the Irish death toll is Father Mychal Judge, the Irish American born in Brooklyn. He was chaplain to the New York fire service and died while administering the last rites to the dying.

Meanwhile in Northern Ireland fears are growing for the whereabouts of Charles McCabe, (46) who was a librarian in the Pentagon. The father of four was from Roslea in County Fermanagh.

In London, Tony Blair grimly predicted that the British death toll could rise to between 200 and 300, making Tuesday’s suicide hijackings the worst terrorist outrage committed against the nation. (AMcE)