Mayor strikes grim note as NY struggles back

With hopes fading that any more survivors would be found amid the dust, steam and gore that is now the World Trade Centre, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urged New Yorkers not to cower before terrorism.

‘‘The life of the city goes on,’’ Mr Giuliani said yesterday.

He said 180 people had been confirmed dead, 115 of whom had been identified. Eighteen city firefighters were among the confirmed dead, including two top officials. The total number of missing was raised by more than 100 yesterday, to 5,097.

‘‘The recovery effort continues and the hope is still there that we might be able to save some lives. But the reality is that in the last several days we haven’t found anyone,’’ Mr Giuliani said.

A high ranking police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said workers weren’t even finding bodies, only body parts.

No one has been pulled alive from the wreckage since Wednesday, the day after two hijacked jetliners were crashed into the trade centre’s twin towers.

‘‘We can’t even find concrete; it’s dust. What we’re calling bodies aren’t really bodies,’’ the official said.

An additional 188 people remained missing and presumed dead in Washington where another hijacked plane slammed into the Pentagon.

A fourth hijacked plane, possibly on course to Washington, crashed in rural Pennsylvania, after passengers are thought to have struggled with the hijackers.

Much of downtown Manhattan was to reopen today, as was the New York Stock Exchange, which has been closed since Tuesday. The Empire State Building, which has been dark since the attacks, was lit last night in red, white and blue.

Speaking at a morning press conference, Mayor Giuliani said one way to deal with the trauma is to ‘‘show how strong we are and how terrorists can’t cower us.’’

‘‘Go ahead and go about the everyday activities,’’ he urged. ‘‘Go to church on Sunday. If you go to a park and play with your children, do that. If you like to go out and spend money I would encourage that. It’s always a good thing.’’

Mr Giuliani also encouraged people from around the country to ‘‘come here and spend money’’.

Barbara Anschuetz, a trauma therapist from Toronto in town to work with victims and survivors of the attacks, offered similar advice - and meant to follow it herself.

Standing in Times Square with a team of colleagues, she was looking to purchase tickets for the theatre.

‘‘We thought coming to a show in the evening, some time next week, when we’ve had pretty intense days, would help provide a sense of normalcy and relief for us,’’ Ms Anschuetz said.

Later yesterday, Mr Giuliani offered a personal story about perseverance.

Addressing a ceremony in which 168 firefighters were being promoted, the mayor said he had an uncle whose legs were broken when he was thrown from a ladder truck answering a false alarm.

‘‘One of my earliest memories is his talking about wanting to go back to work. It was the thing that got him through, the thing that sustained him,’’ he said.

The Fire Department, in the worst tragedy it has experienced since its first engine companies were formed in 1865, lost about 300 members in the trade centre carnage.

Through black and white swirls of smoke, rusty-looking remains of the centre’s once-shining exterior stood at precarious angles. But the rescue work - dusty, sweaty and very probably in vain - continued.

Among the grisly finds have been a pair of hands, bound together, found on a rooftop.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that one rescuer found the body of a flight attendant, whose hands were bound.

Another was the torso of a Port Authority police officer, identified by the radio still hanging from his belt.

James Monsini, a volunteer and demolition expert from Massachusetts, said he and some fellow workers were concentrating on sub-basement level garages and shops.

He said they were hoping for air pockets that would allow victims perhaps trapped in their cars to breathe.

‘‘I saw a car with an interior light on, and I got really hopeful that it was a sign (of life),’’ he said. ‘‘But the person was dead.’’

Another volunteer, steamfitter James Drew, said there was so much glass, hot metal and other debris on the ground that search dogs had to wear protective covers for their feet.

Drew said rescuers have been tapping in rhythm on steel or concrete, hoping for taps in response.

No one has been answering.