Family members of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks protested in New York on Saturday, against the moving of unidentified remains of those killed at the World Trade Centre to the memorial that now stands on the site.

The remains, which will be held in an underground repository at the National September 11 Memorial Museum, which will be dedicated by President Barack Obama on Thursday before opening later this month, were moved from the city's office of the chief medical examiner early on Saturday morning. They were accompanied by police and fire department vehicles with lights flashing but no sirens.

The new mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, had reversed an order from the previous mayor, Michael Bloomberg, that the transfer be kept secret.

One of about a dozen protesters who attended the site on Saturday, Sally Regenhard – whose son, a firefighter, was killed in the World Trade Centre attack – said: "It's horrible. I am so angry. I am so angry. I am outraged.

“The human remains of my son and all of the 3,000 victims should be in a beautiful and respectful memorial, not in the basement of a museum.”

Jim Riches, the chairman of the 9/11 Parents & Families of Firefighters and WTC Victims group, said in a statement: "The human remains repository is most certainly a part of the museum.”



The repository, which will be overseen by the chief medical examiner, will be accessible to families. The official death toll from the attacks on the World Trade Centre is 2,753, of whom 1,115 have not been identified. Forensic examiners hope technology will eventually enable them to identify 7,390 fragmentary remains.



On Friday Norman Siegel, a lawyer for several of the relatives, told the Guardian 94.6% of relatives he had polled opposed the plan. Some relatives have expressed their opposition to the move in a letter to Obama.

In the letter, the relatives wrote: “We believe the remains should be returned to the World Trade Centre site, but in a location that is separate and distinct from the Museum, akin to the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

“For the approximately 1,100 families that did not receive any recovery of their loved ones’ remains, the repository of human remains in the Museum may be the closest thing they will have to a cemetery.”

On Saturday another protester, Rosemary Cain, who lost her firefighter son, told the Associated Press: “I don’t know how much of him is down here. If it’s one little inch, I want it treated respectfully.

“I want it above ground. I don’t want it to be part of a museum. I don’t want it to be part of a freak show.”

Some family members support the repository plan. Lisa Vukaj, whose 26-year-old brother died on 9/11, said the new home for the remains was “a fitting place until technology advances”.

Vukaj said: “Just come in, pay your respects, be here, have your emotions and don’t make it political.”

Monica Iken-Murphy, whose husband was a bond broker in the North Tower, said she hoped his remains would eventually be identified.

"Every year they identify someone," she said. "Last year they identified a male and female in their 40s. I could be next, and I'm optimistic that he could be one of those.

“Even if he isn't, I feel he is home. This is where he took his last breath, his last step. This is where he lost his life."

The 9/11 attacks also saw an airliner flown into the Pentagon, in Virginia, and a plane brought down in Pennsylvania. The National September 11 Memorial Museum is due to open almost five years behind schedule.