66 still missing in Maui wildfires, says Hawaii Governor

Xinhua news agency reports that wildfires ignited on August 8, sweeping through Lahaina in Maui and leaving the oceanside historic town in ruins.

Honolulu: Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that 66 people were still unaccounted for following the devastating wildfires on Maui Island.

The wildfires that erupted on August 8 and raged through Lahaina in Maui, reducing the oceanside historic town to ashes, reports Xinhua news agency.

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According to the authorities, the fires claimed 115 lives and destroyed swathes of indigenous cultural heritage, making it one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history and the deadliest US wildfires in over a century.

“Today marks one month since deadly fires devastated Lahaina and other areas of Maui,” said Green in an address on Friday, adding that search and rescue teams have completed search and rescue efforts in Lahaina.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 66 people “still unaccounted for based on calls and emails they’ve received”, the Governor said.

“This is the number that initially was over 3,000 and then dropped to 385 last week.”

More than 7,500 survivors who were displaced have been relocated from shelters to 29 hotels and hundreds of Airbnbs, according to the Governor.

He said that the state’s Attorney General Anne Lopez has been conducting a full investigation into the cause of the fires and the emergency response via an independent third-party private organisation.