Families gather at WTC to honor 9/11 victims, 23 years later

LOWER MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – Twenty-three years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, families of the victims are honoring their loved ones Wednesday morning during a private ceremony in Lower Manhattan. 

The program at Memorial Plaza started at 8:40 a.m. and will conclude by 1:30 p.m. While it is not open to the public, the ceremony is being broadcast on the PIX11 Morning News and livestreamed on PIX11.com.

During the ceremony, family members read aloud the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. 

The ceremony includes six moments of silence, signifying when each of the towers were struck and fell, the time of the attack on the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday night, two blue beams positioned to echo the Twin Towers will light up the sky. The Tribute in Light will last from dusk until dawn and can be seen as far as 60 miles away.  

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will open at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., but the last entry will be 5:30 p.m.