On the 14th, the death toll caused by the fire in Maui, Hawaii, USA rose to 99, and about 1,300 people were missing. American media reported that the fire was the deadliest fire in the United States in more than a century. At present, the search and rescue operation continues, and the identification of the remains has begun.
Governor Green of the US state of Hawaii said on the 14th that search and rescue personnel have searched about 25% of the fire area and can find 10 to 20 remains every day. It is estimated that the death toll may reach 200 to 300 in the next ten days. Search operations may last weeks or months.
In addition, identification of remains has been carried out locally. The American Red Cross stated that it has received more than 2,500 calls so far, trying to find relatives and friends who lost contact in the fire, and some people posted information on social platforms to find the whereabouts of relatives. In this regard, the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency stated that due to the severe damage to many of the remains, it is very difficult to identify the remains. Police are encouraging missing relatives to provide DNA samples to speed up the identification process.
Maui Police Chief John Peltier:We keep finding human remains that were subjected to fires violent enough to melt metal, requiring rapid DNA testing to confirm the identity of the deceased. We know identification needs to be fast, but in the right way, because when we touch those human remains, they shatter.
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2023-08-15 23:29:38
