British and American authorities have issued phone numbers for frantic relatives fearing for missing family and friends after Tuesday's horror in America.

And a Bermuda Government spokesman said there were many Bermudians unaccounted for although he stressed this had a lot to do with America's overloaded communications system which stopped many callers getting through.

Bermuda's Deputy Governor Tim Gurney said: "There will be a lot of British victims in the World Trade Centre and possibly some on the aircraft - Bermudians as well.

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Police have set up a casualty bureau for people concerned about missing relatives.

"If people have a problem getting through then please stay on the line, they are set up to operate sequentially.

"The call will be answered and details taken and someone at the casualty bureau will get back to the caller.

"They can also call the Deputy Governor's office and we can get information through to the casualty bureau but it is much better to call direct to the UK."

The Bermuda Police are also in touch with their counterparts in Washington and New York to glean information about Bermudians who may have perished in one of the disasters and two numbers have been set up for those wanting information.

US Consul Jennifer Schools said the only information the Consulate had was from airlines who had a list of people who had perished in the suicide hijackings.

She said: "It's going to be a very long time before the piles of rubble are excavated.

"It's so horrific. I have been watching the news for 24 hours and I still can't comprehend what happened, the size of this is so enormous. We have have had nothing like it before.

"A number of Bermudians have called us because they have friends and family over there and they are very concerned. We have had 20 calls since yesterday evening."

She added: "At this time the US Department of State has no direct contact information for those concerned about family members who may have been victims of these incidents.

"Interested parties should attempt to get in touch with their relatives directly to determine their will being.

"If they are unable to do so they should contact appropriate airline representatives and employers for assistance."

Mr. Gurney said the FCO would have much the same information as their US counterparts but he said callers might have better luck getting through because American switchboards were still incredibly busy.

He said: "I know from experience that the the FCO system is extremely effective. People might well have a better chance of getting through to Britain."

A Bermuda Government spokesman said yesterday: "There seem to be quite a lot of people missing, people can't get in touch.

"There were a lot of people on the early morning flight to New York who would have got into the city right around the time that the city shut down.

"Some people have just vanished."

"I am sure there's no reason for them to be around the World Trade Centre but they had to go to ground somewhere other than the place they were supposed to be staying.

"There are lots and lots of frantic relatives.

"There have been lots of calls to the tourism department for people losing their travel documents."

He said Bermudians who had lost travel documents in the World Trade Centre disaster would be allowed home without them - once flights resume.

He said: "Bermudians in this position should give their full names and dates of birth to airline personnel at the check-in counter.

"The Senior Immigration Officer at Bermuda International Airport will be contacted who will be able to check for entries in the Bermuda Status Register.

"If those concerned are on the register as Bermudian or as the spouses of Bermudians, they will be allowed to board the aircraft and land in Bermuda."

4Where to call:

FCO number: 01144-207-008-0000.

State Department Task force (flight manifests): 1-703-302-6170 and 1-703-302-6179.

United Airlines Crisis Centre: 1-847-427-4170.

American Airlines Crisis Centre: 1-817-967-8328 and 1-202-496-5644.

The Bermuda Police hotline numbers are: 293-4997 and 293-587.

4On the Net:

Travel information can also be gleaned from these Web sites:

www.fco.gov.uk

http://travel.state.gov