NEW YORK, July 4: Families of the victims of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks joined New York City's mayor and two state governors on Sunday to lay the granite cornerstone of the "Freedom Tower" skyscraper at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.
Relatives of some of the nearly 2,800 people killed when two hijacked jets slammed into the twin towers attended the US Independence Day groundbreaking ceremony. The tower will be the world's tallest building at 1,776 feet symbolizing US independence from Britain on July 4, 1776, when it is completed by 2009.
Pataki, a Republican, said the Sept. 11 hijackers "attacked us to break our spirit. Instead, they broke our hearts." But he said they underestimated the city and nation's resolve and unity, as represented by the start of the $1.5bn project less than three years later. -Reuters
