There are unconfirmed reports that an Irish priest may have perished in yesterday’s terrorist attacks in New York. It is believed he may have been helping rescue workers in the vicinity of the World Trade Centre when the towers collapsed.
A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in Washington confirmed they were investigating the report. He said he could not confirm whether the priest was an Irish citizen or not.
"The situation is chaotic at the moment and we may have to wait for some time before we get any accurate information", he said.
The Irish Consulate in New York has also been fielding hundreds of calls from concerned parties looking for news of missing Irish relatives and friends.
Spokesman for the Consulate Mr Eamonn McKee has said that they have been liaising with New York City police and rescue workers on the basis of the calls they are receiving.
"We are down to a hardcore number of cases," he said, but added that this number is likely to fluctuate over the next number of hours.
Mr McKee stressed that those who had made contact with missing relatives subsequent to contacting the Consulate should let them know so that these people could be removed from the missing list.
"We have an ongoing list of people and are trying to refine it in connection with police," he said.
Earlier a Cork woman and her daughter were confirmed as the first Irish fatalities in yesterday’s attacks.