Maui wildfires: at least 1,100 missing as FBI seeks help identifying dead
- Latest estimate of missing comes two weeks after deadly wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui
- The FBI is trying to collect DNA samples from family members of the missing, wherever in the world they may be
At least 1,100 people are still missing two weeks after deadly wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui, authorities said, with the FBI seeking family members’ help in identifying the remains of the dead.
The fires were the deadliest to hit the United States in a century, claiming at least 115 lives, according to the latest provisional death toll.
The tourist town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 people, was all but wiped off the map, with thousands of missing persons appearing on lists maintained by various organisations, including the police, Red Cross and shelters.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now working to collate and verify the data, Special Agent Steven Merrill told reporters.
“We’re cross-referencing all the lists so that we can determine who in fact truly is still unaccounted for,” Merrill said.
