Ground Zero workers win $657m payout for dust on 9/11

New York City officials have agreed to pay $657 million (£437 million) to thousands of people who cleared the site of the 9/11 attacks.

Ten thousand people say they became ill after inhaling dust from the World Trade Center site. At least 95 per cent of them must approve the deal before the money is paid out.

The toxic clouds contained asbestos, lead, glass and cement. Most of the money would come out of a $1 billion grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the settlement "a fair and reasonable resolution to a complex set of circumstances".

After the twin towers fell on 11 September 2001, rescuers spent weeks amid the wreckage but few were adequately insured for such work.