World Trade Centre clean-up ‘could take 12 months’

The massive clean-up operation at the site of the collapsed World Trade Centre towers in New York could take up to a year to complete, it was announced today.

The sheer volume of rubble and the complexity of the operation, which includes clearing 10 destroyed stories below ground, meant at the very least it would be nine months before the area was cleared, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.