Maui officials begin to formally identify the dead
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With the survey of the burn areas about one-third complete, officials were still working to identify the remains of those who had died.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KAHULUI, Hawaii - Officials in Hawaii released the first names of people killed by wildfires in Maui on Tuesday evening, killed at least 106 people
Mr Robert Dyckman, 74 and Mr Buddy Jantoc, 79, both of Lahaina, were among those who died, the County of Maui said in a news release. Three other people have been identified, but their names are being withheld pending notification of family, according to officials.
Governor Josh Green of Hawaii said in a television interview the number could still rise significantly.
With the survey of the burn areas about one-third complete, officials were still working to identify the remains of those who had died, a process that has been painstakingly slow requiring forensic experts and DNA samples because of the severity of the burns.
President Joe Biden and the first lady will visit the site of the disaster “in the coming weeks,” the governor said, explaining that the president did not want to interfere with recovery efforts.
Mr Biden said earlier on Tuesday that he would travel to Hawaii “as soon as we can”.
The president’s announcement came after Republican criticism that he was not doing enough following the deadly blaze.
The fire is one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history, and the nation’s deadliest wildfire since a blaze in north-east Minnesota killed hundreds of people in 1918.
Lahaina, once the royal capital of Hawaii, was devastated, and some residents there ran into the ocean to avoid the heat and flames. Survivors described fleeing for their lives from a fast-moving “total inferno”.
The Maui Emergency Management Agency estimated that it would cost US$5.52 billion (S$4.07 billion) to rebuild in Maui County.
Members of the mortuary response teams with the federal Department of Health and Human Services are in Lahaina, helping to support the local officials with victim identifications and processing remains. NYTIMES
