US based Marsh and Mclennan Companies - who employ over 150 people in Bermuda - employed 1,700 people in the World Trade Center.

President of the local office Andrew Carr said yesterday that 800 of these employees were unaccounted for.

Mr. Carr said that some of the staff were in offices above where the first plane hit, and the company was yesterday still coming to terms with the unbelievable tragedy

"It is a very hard time," said Mr. Carr.

But despite the tragedy, the company has resolved to get operations up and running again as soon as possible, and the main office in midtown Manhattan with over 7,000 employees was yesterday hard at work implementing emergency contingency plans.

The company's communications centre was destroyed in the World Trade Center, but a new system is being built in the US and the UK .

And despite Tuesday's historic events, Mr. Carr said it was business as usual in the local office, even though the mood was sombre and the uncertain fate of so many people was never out of mind.

Marsh has established an emergency call centre at their headquarters building in midtown Manhattan and the call centre number - for emergency enquiries only - is 212-345-6000.

And all Marsh operating company employees working at the World Trade Center have been asked to contact this number immediately even if they are travelling or on vacation.