Inside the secret field of death in the huge Staten Island landfill, mangled firetrucks, scorched police vehicles and crushed cars are piled next to a grisly mortuary tent.
The long white tent contains body parts found amid the rubble hauled from the World Trade Center bombing scene.
Tons of the debris are piled into small heaps which law-enforcement officers search for clues.
The debris is spread over an area the size of several football fields, high on a hilltop in the Fresh Kills Landfills that is unseen from the nearby West Shore Expressway.
Convoys of dump trucks unload their cargo around the clock at the landfill, which was just closed to New York City garbage this summer.
Tight security surrounds the grim operation that sources at the landfill say could last beyond Christmas.
The site’s two entrances are guarded by heavy police and FBI security. No one is allowed within a quarter mile of the world’s largest dump. Atop the hill where the debris is spread, a double perimeter of 12-foot-high wire fences surround the site.
“It’s one huge crime scene with yellow tape around everything,” said one truck driver who just dumped his load.
“The FBI people break down the piles into smaller piles and then others start going through that. It’s pretty sad to see all those personal things in there, shoes and all the papers and things like ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^that,” said the weary truck driver, who asked to remain anonymous.