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1993-02-28
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51 lines
02/27/1993 NEW YORK (AP) -- Terrorists might have been responsible
for a deadly explosion at the World Trade Center, authorities said
Saturday. The FBI director suggested the blast might be related to
the troubles in the former Yugoslavia.
Officials, who reached the point of the explosion Saturday, all
but confirmed that a bomb caused the huge blast that left five
people dead and two missing. Friday's blast, which rocked the
world's second-tallest buildings from their foundations to their
sky-high observation decks, also injured more than 1,000 people.
Traces of nitrate found at the scene, combined with the amount of
heat and damage caused by the noontime blast, strengthened the bomb
theory, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a news conference.
"Our best guess is there is a high probability it was a bombing,
possibly terrorist related," James Fox, director of the FBI's
Manhattan office, said 24 hours after the blast that left the city
badly shaken and suspicious.
FBI director William Sessions told NBC News on Saturday that there
was some indication that the explosion might be connected to the
trouble in the former republics of Yugoslavia and meetings planned
at the United Nations to try to mediate the fighting there.
"That is that the Bosnians, the Serbians, Croatians, the Muslims,
all these conflicts in the area might lead you to the conclusion
that because they're meeting in New York there might be some
connection with the explosion there," Sessions said.
Kelly said police received 19 calls from groups and individuals
claiming responsibility for the blast, all after the incident.
The New York Times reported Sunday that investigators were taking
one of those calls more seriously than the others. The call came
from a man with a foreign accent who cited the strife in the former
Yugoslavia, the newspaper said.
The blast detonated in an underground parking garage, rocking the
World Trade Center like an earthquake and filling its 110-story
towers with thick, black smoke.
Two employees of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
remained missing Saturday, and a search of the garage's rubble using
thermal imaging cameras was planned. Four of the fatal victims were
also employed by the Port Authority, which operates the trade
center.
The blast occurred directly under one of the towers and the Vista
Hotel. It blew holes through two lower levels, which included a
commuter train station.
The two main Trade Center buildings will be closed at least
through Monday while the damage is assessed, said Stanley Brezenoff,
Port Authority executive director. In addition to the smoke, windows
were smashed by trapped people desperate for air.
George Rossi, the Port Authority's assistant director of world
trade, said any lengthy closure could be devastating to the city's
economy. He told The New York Times that one Japanese bank recently
estimated that closing the center would cost it $20 million a day in
trades.