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Daily News
By Gail Helmer
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Wednesday September 12, 2001
Military News
Pentagon Recovery Operations Continue
Search and rescue operations at the Pentagon, led by as many as 200 Arlington County firefighters and police assisted by a number of other jurisdictions, continue today.
The area of the Pentagon where the aircraft struck and burned sustained catastrophic damage. Anyone who might have survived the initial impact and collapse could not have survived the fire that followed. When the aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, it reportedly was carrying several thousand gallons of jet fuel, which caused an intense fire in the immediate crash area.
Reconnaissance efforts conducted overnight indicate that there are no survivors in the immediate collapsed area. Listening devices that have been able to get in have proven negative, and it is doubtful that anyone in the immediate impact area survived.
Rescue authorities are planning to use a wrecking ball this morning in the collapsed section of the Pentagon to clear away unstable rubble so urban search and rescue teams can safely begin their search effort in adjacent areas. Stabilizing the building at this point will allow full search and rescue operations and ensure the safety of the teams as they go about their business. This decision was reached after joint consultations with county, state, federal and military authorities.
Air Force Response To Terrorist Attacks
The U.S. Air Force is working around the clock to coordinate relief to victims of this morning's terrorist attacks.
Secretary of the Air Force James Roche contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency immediately following the first reports of these attacks and offered maximum Air Force assets including personnel and equipment.
The Air Force is mobilizing medical critical care units, aeromedical evacuation teams, and critical incident stress management experts and other airlift assets in support of the president's activation of the National Disaster Medical System.
Expeditionary medical support teams are mobilized in response to the disasters. Teams from Langley, Wright Patterson, Keesler, Lackland, and Travis Air Force Bases are being positioned at various staging facilities. These teams are portable hospitals comprised of surgical teams, critical care capabilities and public health teams, among other specialties.
Additionally, the Air Force is assisting with the distribution of blood supplies to the locations where they are most needed. Locations of the staging centers are not releasable at this time due to security concerns.
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