Statue of Liberty to be scanned in case of terror attack

The United States is using laser scanning technology to map every contour of iconic landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore, so they can be quickly rebuilt if destroyed by terrorists.

The United States is using laser scanning technology to map every contour of iconic landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore, so they can be quickly rebuilt if destroyed by terrorists.

Particular attention is being paid to symbolic structures without detailed original drawings. They include the dome of the Capitol in Washington, which may have been the target of the hijacked airlinerthat crashed into a Pennsylvania field in September 2001.

John Burns, of the National Park Service, said: "Since we now face threats to the touchstones of our heritage, our history and our civilisation, we are now looking at new possibilities in terms of reconstruction."

Every millimetre of the landmarks is mapped using laser scanners. Once completed, the country will have 3-D computer models placed for safe-keeping with the National Archives at an undisclosed government location. Thereafter, any of the structures could be reproduced down to the last centimetre.

Don Striker, superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, told the New York Daily News: "If someone comes along with a suitcase bomb or a briefcase nuke and blows up a chunk of Thomas Jefferson, and his nose falls off, the 3-D representation would allow us to perform major reconstructive surgery on the mountain."

Only sketches exist for the 93m-tall (300ft) Statue of Liberty in New York harbour, designed by the Frenchman Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated in 1886. And the eight principal architects who built the Capitol between 1793 and 1868 left only unfinished plans.

* Three men in Hong Kong agreed to surrender to the US yesterday on charges of conspiracy to trade drugs for anti-aircraft missiles they told an FBI undercover agent they wanted to sell to al-Qa'ida.

In a move that surprised even their lawyer, the two Pakistanis and an Indian-born US citizen said they would not fight extradition. They were caught in the FBI sting by undercover agents who said the three had agreed to provide five tons of hashish and 600kg of heroin for four shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.