US Consul General Barbara Stephenson led an interdenominational memorial service held at Belfast City Hall, attended by Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers, Security Minister Jane Kennedy and thousands of people from the City.

Speaking at the event Mrs Stephenson said she had been comforted by the tremendous outpouring of sympathy from the people of the province.

She said: “Anyone who has passed by the consulate will have seen the many bouquets of flowers that have been left.

“After seeing so many images this week that have filled me with grief and despair, the sight of those flowers with their handwritten notes fills me with an entirely different set of emotions. They convince me that the people of Belfast are capable of great compassion, of deep empathy, of a genuine ability to feel and share someone else’s pain. Seeing those flowers and reading those notes gives me hope.”

At the ecumenical service in Belfast, and many others held throughout the province, the people of Northern Ireland joined in their expression of grief and united in prayer for the victims of the attacks in the United States.

People around the province joined with the rest of Europe at 11:00 am (BST) in a three-minute silence to remember those killed in the terrorist attacks on the United States. At present just under 5,000 are reported missing. An emotional President George W. Bush announced that Friday would be a national day of mourning in the US.

As the true extent of the human heartbreak unfolds, people were again overcome by emotion as they thought of the final phone calls made and last messages left by those who knew their lives were about to end on the doomed aircraft and in the blazing buildings of the World Trade Centre.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw confirmed that the number of Britons believed to have lost their lives is around 100, but feared that the death toll could eventually be much higher.

Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also declared Friday a day of mourning in the Republic of Ireland and urged government offices and businesses to close, so that people could attend remembrance services.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that four Irish citizens were known to have been killed, but fears were growing for the lives of several other Irish citizens known to have been living and working in Manhattan. (SP/AMcE)