2023-08-23 06:32:37
The town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui, Hawaii, was burned down. August 22, 2023. JAE C. HONG / AP
Two weeks after the deadly fires that ravaged the island of Maui, Hawaii authorities announced on Tuesday August 22 that 1,100 people were still missing, according to a list compiled by the FBI, the American federal police, which claims the help from 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 the special agent Steven Merrill in front of the press. After examination, the federal police currently identify 1,100 missing persons, according to him. This number is “likely to increase”he added, because the FBI is “still in the process of collecting additional data”. Monday evening, the mayor of Maui had thus reported only 850 missing.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Fires in Hawaii: how the blaze trapped the inhabitants of the seaside town of Lahaina
The FBI has set up a dedicated phone number and encourages relatives of the missing to contact it. “We really need the public’s help”, insisted Mr. Merrill, explaining that some disappeared are sometimes only identified 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” missing “in the next few days”said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier.
Collection of DNA samples
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 twenty-seven have been identified.
Having the DNA of the family of the missing is “a crucial step in identifying” the victims, recalled Julie French, the 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 announced. 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. »
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers El Niño and La Niña, the “terrible children” of the climate
#Hawaii #fires #people #missing