Hawaii fires: 1,100 people missing
The latest death toll from the devastating fires on the island of Maui was 115 on Tuesday, but 1,100 people are still missing.
Updated23 August 2023, 06:06
In Lahaina on August 21, 2023.
AFP
Two weeks after the deadly fires that ravaged the island of Maui, the Hawaiian authorities announced on Tuesday that they had still identified 1,100 missing people, according to a list drawn up by the FBI, which is calling for the help of their relatives to facilitate the search. These fires, the deadliest for a century in the United States, have killed at least 115 people, according to the latest provisional report.
But this tragedy could turn out to be much heavier. Since the fire almost razed the tourist town of Lahaina, where 12,000 inhabitants resided, thousands of missing persons appear on various lists circulating on social networks or maintained by various authorities – police, Red Cross, shelters, etc. The FBI is now working to standardize this data.
“We are cross-checking all the lists in order to be able to determine who is still really missing,” announced special agent Steven Merrill to the press. After examination, the federal police currently lists “1100” missing persons, according to him. This number is “likely to increase”, he added, as the FBI is “still in the process of collecting additional data”.
Dedicated number
Monday evening, the mayor of Maui had thus reported only 850 missing. The FBI has set up a dedicated phone number (808-566-4300) and encourages relatives of the missing to contact it.
“We really need the public’s help,” insisted Steven Merrill, explaining that some missing persons are sometimes identified only by their first name, on lists circulating online. In such cases, additional information, such as a surname or date of birth, can greatly help the federal police to locate the person or confirm their disappearance.
Authorities are doing their best to refine the data and hope to release a “verified list” of missing persons “in the coming days,” said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier.
ADN
The FBI also employs agents to collect DNA samples from families of missing persons who cannot travel to Maui, wherever they are in the world. Because the identification of the unrecognizable corpses found in the ashes of Lahaina is laborious.
Of the 115 victims identified, only 27 have been identified so far. Having the DNA of the family of the missing is “a crucial step in identifying” the victims, recalled Julie French, vice-president of ANDE, the company in charge of these operations.
“Nearly three-quarters of the remains that have been DNA tested so far have yielded searchable results,” she said. But without family DNA to compare this data to, the process is futile.
Only 104 DNA samples have been collected so far and authorities want to dispel any reluctance. “DNA profiles are not retained by the FBI” or local police, Maui County District Attorney Andrew Martin said. “The only reason they will be used is to help identify missing people.”
(AFP)
2023-08-23 04:06:58
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