Rescue workers at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center towers have today found air pockets but no survivors.
The mission is approaching the point where rescue transfers to recovery. Late last night New York City Mayor Mr Rudolph Giuliani said: "The hope of recovering people diminishes obviously everyday. We are not at the point, where we can see, that there is no hope of recovering anyone".
Firefighters, ironworkers, police and search dogs worked overnight and resumed work this morning. They managed to reach the lowest underground floors underneath the towers. Large air pockets were found but no survivors.
Rubble is still smoking, and rescue work has fed many smouldering fires with oxygen, hindering the rescue workers.
Serious concerns remain about 20 Irish people who have been reported missing by their families. The total number of missing is 4,957 - a figure that has dropped by about 140 after officials rechecked lists.
Some 190 bodies have been recovered from the World Trade Center towers, and 115 of these have been identified. No one has been pulled alive from the rubble since last Wednesday. Only five people have been rescued so far.
Following the attack on the Pentagon in Washington by another hijacked aircraft, 188 more people remain missing, presumed dead.
Just under 2 per cent of the 450,000 tonnes of rubble have been removed to a landfill on Staten Island 10 miles from attack site.