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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2001
NEW YORK -- Within hours of the attack on the World Trade Center, the German consulate was flooded with calls from anxious relatives, and the count of loved ones feared to be missing soared to about 1,000.
In the days that followed, consular officials whittled down that total to 31, working the phones and the streets, visiting homes, hotels and hospitals, according to press officer Werner Schmidt.
"We had a dozen people in the days after the attack constantly walking around New York," Schmidt said.
Germany's experience was repeated at scores of consulates across the city. In many cases, their only option was to knock on doors to determine who was safe and who wasn't among the city's population of foreign nationals.
The Turkish consulate received 475 calls from Turkey and another 200 from New York in the days after the attack, according to spokesman Nevzat Bayazit. Among those reported missing were 48 Turkish citizens known to work in the World Trade Center.
The consulate staff scrambled to find those reported missing, and only one Turkish citizen remains lost, a New Jersey resident who worked at bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service is concerned some people listed as missing may not step forward because they are illegal aliens. The INS issued a statement Sept. 23 saying it "will not seek immigration status information provided to local authorities in the rescue and recovery efforts."
Mexico's consulate in New York ran ads on Spanish-language radio stations saying they were trying to find the missing without regard to their immigration status.
At least 15 Mexicans were lost in the trade center attack, and the country is among many that are helping with expenses for relatives who can't afford to travel to the United States.