Three New York firefighters who worked at the World Trade Center ruins after the September 11 attacks have died within hours of each other from cancer.
Howard Bischoff and Daniel Heglund were 58, while the third firefighter, Robert Leaver, was 56. All three men, who died on Monday, had been retired since 2003.
"Losing three firefighters on the same day to WTC-related illnesses is a painful reminder that, 13 years later, we continue to pay a terrible price for the department's heroic efforts on September 11," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said on Thursday.
Their deaths bring the number of rescue workers who have perished from September 11-related illnesses to 92.
Tens of thousands of people, mainly emergency workers, have contracted respiratory, skin and other ailments after being exposed to toxins at Ground Zero.
The World Trade Center Health Program was set up in 2010 to treat victims.
The attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly 3,000 people, including 343 firefighters.
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