It is just about the last place in the world where Lt. John Ryan of the Port Authority police expected he would find inspiration. But while digging 60 feet below ground, in a densely packed spot at the bottom of the World Trade Center pit, recovery crews this weekend uncovered what appeared to be a noble, but futile, final act of heroism on the part of five Port Authority police officers.

The remains of the officers were found in a spot that had once been the lobby of 1 World Trade Center, the north tower and the second to collapse. That means it is almost certain that the officers knew the south tower had already fallen and that they had been ordered to evacuate.

But right next to where the officers' bodies were discovered, the recovery crews found another victim: an obese woman who was still strapped into a rescue chair the officers had apparently been using to try to get her out.

''You can't help but feel admiration for them,'' said Lieutenant Ryan, who supervised the recovery team that began using hand rakes and small shovels sometime after 4 a.m. Saturday. The last of the six bodies was carried out at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. ''Even under those extreme conditions, rather than just flee for their life, they still were in the process of trying to help someone else, someone who clearly was not able to get out on her own,'' he said.