A New York City firefighter who helped with recovery efforts after the September 11 terrorist attacks and recovered his brother’s remains from the wreckage has died from cancer related to the tragedy.

Daniel Foley, 46, died on Saturday from pancreatic cancer, according to the New York City Fire Department.

Mr Foley started with the department in 1998, working with Rescue Company 3 in the Bronx.

Thomas Foley, Daniel’s brother, was also a New York firefighter, and died responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Daniel found his brother’s remains after nearly two weeks searching through the wreckage.

Lieutenant Mickey Conboy of Rescue Company 3 told CBS News that Daniel promised his mother and father that he wouldn't leave ground zero without finding his brother.

The National September 11 Memorial Museum Show all 13 1 /13 The National September 11 Memorial Museum The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum A FDNY fire truck from which all 11 responding members of Ladder Company 3 were killed. The front cab of this fire truck was shorn off when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum This piece of steel, once part of the facade of the North Tower, was located at the point of impact where hijacked Flight 11 pierced the building EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum The 58-tonne, 36-foot- tall piece of welded plate steel removed from the site in a solemn ceremony as the 'Last Column' on 30 May, 2002 EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum The Vesey Street stairs, or Survivors Stairs, which once connected the northern edge of the World Trade Center Plaza to the Vesey Street sidewalk EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum A 19.8-foot-long fragment (about one-twentieth) of the 360-foot-tall transmission structure atop the North Tower EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum A portion of one of the airplanes involved into the crash EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum The lift motor which had it's cables severed when hijacked Flight 11 struck the North Tower, trapping hundreds of people above floor 93 EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum A photograph of dust, ash, and debris from the collapsed Twin Towers filling the interior of Chelsea Jeans, a retail store on Broadway near Fulton Street EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum A laptop belonging to convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center EPA The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum This American Airlines slipper is on display in the museum AP The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum The glass exterior of the museum. It will open its doors to the public on May 21st AFP/Getty The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum Columns from the destroyed World Trade Centre recovered from the wreckage are on display in the museum AP The National September 11 Memorial Museum 9/11 Memorial Museum Images of victims of the attacks form part of the 9/11 Memorial Museum. AP

“On the first night, Danny promised his mother and father he wouldn’t come home until he brought his brother home with him,” Mr Conboy said. “On the 11th day, Danny miraculously found his brother Tommy in the rubble at the World Trade Center.”

Daniel was married and had five children. More than 200 firefighters – including the Foley brothers and their father, Tom Foley Sr – have died from illnesses related to working at Ground Zero following the September 11 attacks.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association of New York City firefighters issued a memorial statement on Twitter, calling the situation “a living nightmare for all of us.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the firefighter in a Twitter statement.

“Firefighter Daniel Foley gave his life for our city. Just like his older brother Thomas did on 9/11. They represented the best of this city and we will never forget them,” he wrote. “God bless their memory and their family.”

“The attacks on the World Trade Center have claimed yet another brave member of our Department, and the Foley family,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement issued by the department. “Daniel Foley, like his brother Thomas who was killed on September 11th, dedicated his life to rescuing others. We will never forget them.”

Comedian Jon Stewart made headlines last year when he went before Congress and demanded that they extend the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund which provides financial assistance to those injured during the 2001 attacks.