Two Brazilians Missing Since September 11 Remain Off Official Death List

Two Brazilian citizens who disappeared during the September 11 attacks in New York City are not included in the official list of 2,753 recognized victims or the 11 September Memorial. The individuals are Nilton Albuquerque Fernão Cunha, a 41 year old engineer from Espirito Santo, and Claudino Antunes Braga, a 48 year old from Minas Gerais. It is believed that Cunha was on the 108th floor of the North Tower. He had a return ticket to Brazil scheduled for September 12, 2001. Although authorities requested DNA samples from his family for identification, the samples were never sent. Braga had reportedly entered the United States illegally via Mexico and was working as a shoe shiner at the World Trade Center. His family in Brazil was unaware he was in the United States at the time of the attacks.

Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Itamaraty, stated that it does not maintain an official list of Brazilian deaths from the attacks, as that responsibility lies with American authorities. The ministry noted that the Consulate General in New York received search requests for 93 Brazilians in September 2001. Most were located, but five remained missing. The consulate provided assistance to the families of those five individuals to coordinate DNA sampling with U.S. authorities. Itamaraty declined to name the five individuals to protect their privacy.

Three other Brazilians are officially recognized as victims: Ivan Kyrillos Fairbanks Barbosa, Anne Marie Sallerin Ferreira, and Sandra Fajardo Smith. Barbosa and Ferreira worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower, while Smith was an accountant for Marsh and McLennan on the 98th floor. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner continues the work of identifying victims twenty five years after the attacks.