Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the second day of his U.S. visit by paying homage to the victims of the dastardly 9/11 terror attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people, including many Indians.
Mr. Modi, dressed in impeccable white kurta-pyjama and wearing a grey stole, visited the memorial and the museum early on Saturday morning.
A sombre looking Mr. Modi placed yellow rose buds on the memorial at ‘ground zero’ and folded his hands.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by India’s Ambassador to the U.S. S Jaishankar and other officials.
Mr. Modi’s visit to the memorial of the 2001 terror attack by al-Qaeda, when they crashed two hijacked passenger jets into the iconic World Trade Centre, is seen as a significant gesture of support by India to the war on terror.
The 9/11 Memorial was inaugurated by President Barack Obama earlier this year in May.
Followed by the visit to the memorial, Mr. Modi visited the museum that displays artifacts associated with the events of 9/11, while presenting stories of loss and recovery.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum commemorates the September 11 attacks which killed 2,977 people, including over 40 Indians, and the World Trade Centre bombing of 1993, which killed six.
Names of nine Indian victims are inscribed on the panels of the 9/11 memorial -- Ganesh K Ladkat, Anil Shivhari Umarkar, Sushil S Solanki, Alok Kumar Mehta, Shekhar Kumar, Alok Agarwal, Jayesh Shantilal Shah, Yudhvir S. Jain and Hashmukh C. Parmar.
The memorial is located at the World Trade Centre site, on the former location of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed during the attacks.
The World Trade Centre Memorial Foundation was renamed the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Centre in 2007.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum opened in May for the 9/11 community -- survivors, families, rescuers.
Shortly after it opened to the general public.
The Museum’s 110,000 square feet of exhibition space is located within the archaeological heart of the World Trade Centre site, telling the story of 9/11 through multimedia displays, archives, narratives and a collection of monumental and authentic artefacts.
