Irish child victim of twin towers crash identified

The remains of an Irish-American child killed in the attacks on New York's World Trade Centre last September are to be flown home for burial in Cork after they were recovered from Ground Zero and identified. The child, Juliana McCourt (4), was on the second aircraft that hit the twin towers. She was with her mother, Ruth (45), on a United Airlines flight bound for Disneyland.

Ms McCourt's remains were identified last year and have since been flown home for burial in Cork. In another tragic twist Juliana's godmother also perished in the attacks. She was a passenger on the first aircraft to hit the towers.

A spokeswoman for the New York Medical Examiner's office last night confirmed that Juliana's remains had been identified "a few days ago" using DNA evidence.