Hawaii fires: Authorities release list of 388 people still missing

More than two weeks after the United States’ deadliest wildfires in a century, which killed at least 115 people on the island of Maui, Hawaii authorities still list 388 people missing. On Thursday evening, they released the official list of names, asking for help from their relatives. They hope to continue research to determine the true extent of the tragedy.

“We need your help,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said in a video message, asking the public to contact the FBI if a name on the list matches someone safe and sound. The document only includes persons for whom the name, name and contact of the person who reported their disappearance are listed, John Pelletier said.

On Tuesday evening, federal police issued instructions to identify 1,100 more missing persons. How that number dropped to 388 in two days is unclear. Asked by AFP, Hawaii authorities have yet to provide an explanation as of Friday at noon.

Balance that can increase

In the aftermath of the disaster, local authorities asked the FBI to intervene and standardize the data from the numerous lists circulating on social media or in placement centers that list thousands of missing people. The release of the official missing persons list on social media prompted several comments from people claiming that some of the names match those of living and healthy people. Thus, many survivors have been identified and located.

However, the authorities expect that the loss of life as a result of the disaster, already very heavy, will increase. Finding some of the burnt buildings is proving extremely difficult and will likely take several more weeks.

The identification of victims, whose corpses are often unrecognizable and require comparison with family DNA, is also laborious: only 46 bodies have been identified – the vast majority of adults of a certain age, as well as a 7-year-old child. still.

The list method has already been used by US authorities after a major fire in California in 2018 that left 1,300 people missing.