Ground Zero fire finally put out

The fire that has burned under the rubble of the World Trade Center for more than three months has finally been put out.

What was once a huge column of smoke that reached the length of Manhattan has diminished to a haze of steam at the heart of Ground Zero after millions of gallons of water were poured into the ruins. Fire Battalion Chief Brian Dixon said that while small "hot pockets" might still be discovered: "We consider the fire to be out."

Initially the blaze was fuelled by thousands of gallons of jet fuel from the two passenger aircraft that crashed into the buildings. After the collapse of the towers, the fire continued to be fed by electrical and office equipment and paper. It was so hot that steel beams sometimes glowed red when they were removed by recovery teams.

Since the end of November, the smoke has steadily diminished and with it the acrid stench of burning that at times reached several miles away. Recovery workers are now digging into the seven basement floors of the twin towers and continue to find bodies. A fire engine, crushed almost beyond recognition, was dug out two days ago. The site is expected to take between six and nine months to clear.

The official number of dead has also fallen below 3,000 for the first time. Initially it was feared more than 6,000 people had been killed in the disaster, but city officials now put the figure at 2,992, including the passengers, crew and hijackers on the planes.

Including the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of a hijacked United Airlines flight in a field in Pennsylvania, the death toll for the worst terrorist attack on American soil now stands at 3,225.