Trade Center's death toll is scaled down to 3,000

NEW YORK--The city's official count of people missing or killed inthe terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center fell to 3,000Tuesday.

The tally, which includes people on the ground and those aboardthe two hijacked planes that hit the twin towers, had been as high as6,700 in September. It was 3,001 on Monday.

City officials have said there are a number of reasons for thesteadily declining number: names listed more than once on missingperson-reports, overestimates from some foreign consulates andfamilies who filed early missing reports but neglected to notifypolice when loved ones turned up safe.

As of Tuesday, the city medical examiner's office had issued 529death certificates, based on identifications made from remains.Another 1,977 death certificates have been issued at the request ofvictims' families. The rest are still considered missing.

Independent tallies maintained by news organizations haveconsistently been lower than the city's toll.

An ongoing Associated Press tally of people confirmed dead andthose reported dead or missing in the trade center attack stood at2,789 Tuesday. That number excludes those killed at the Pentagon andin Pennsylvania. The AP list is based on information collected fromthe Defense Department, medical examiners, the courts, AP foreignbureaus, companies, families, member newspapers, funeral homes andplaces of worship.