Authorities in the American archipelago of Hawaii have released a list of 388 people still missing, more than two weeks after the deadliest fires in a century in the United States killed at least 115 people on the island. from Maui. The fire has nearly leveled the tourist town of Lahaina, the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and the number of people we have not heard from is fueling speculation.
With the publication of this official list of names on Thursday evening, the authorities hope to advance research to determine the true extent of the tragedy. “We need your help,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier recalled in a video message, asking the public to contact the FBI if a name on the list matches someone safe and sound.
Tuesday evening, the federal police had explained to identify another 1,100 missing. How that number fell to 388 in the span of two days was not immediately clear. Requested by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the authorities of Hawaii had not yet given an explanation Friday at midday.
The list only includes individuals for whom a surname, first name, and the contact of the person who reported their disappearance have been provided, said John Pelletier in his video. Since the disaster, the local authorities have asked the FBI to intervene to standardize the data of numerous lists circulating on social networks or in accommodation centers, which listed thousands of missing persons. Many survivors have thus been identified and located.
The authorities expect, however, that the human toll of the disaster, already very heavy, will increase. Searching some charred buildings is proving extremely difficult and will likely take weeks more.
The identification of the victims, whose corpses are often unrecognizable and require comparison with family DNA, is also laborious: only 46 bodies – the vast majority of adults of a certain age, but also a 7-year-old child – have been identified so far.
The publication of the official list of missing on social media has prompted several comments from people claiming that some names match those of safe and sound people. This method had already been used by US authorities after the Camp Fire, a large fire that killed 85 people in 2018 in California and after which 1,300 people were initially missing.
