Officials in Maui are struggling to recover and identify the bodies of residents who perished in the devastating fires, citing hazardous conditions, a lack of communication and the fragility of the remains.
“Here’s the challenge — there’s no power, there’s no internet, there’s no radio coverage … when we’re speaking to our officers over there, we’re actually speaking to them, we’re actually having to get them to a certain area so we can get on the [satellite] phone,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier explained to reporters in a Sunday press conference.
We don’t know how many people have died,” he admitted. “When this is all said and done, we just don’t know.”
Alhough Pelletier stated in the Aug. 13 press conference that there were 53 confirmed deaths in Lahaina, Retired Maj. Jeff Hickman, a spokesperson for Hawaii’s Department of Defense, told NBC TODAY on Monday that the number of casualties stood at 96 with only 3% of the search completed. (RELATED: Beach-Lounging Biden Has ‘No Comment’ As Death Toll In Maui Nears 100)
“We only have 3% of the search done and they want to be meticulous and do it right. So right, now they’re going street by street and block by block. They’re doing cars and soon they’ll start to enter buildings,” he stated.
Hickman added that 110 personnel from the Hawaii National Guard are undertaking rescue efforts with the assistance of 400 FEMA personnel with cadaver dogs. “So the efforts are going to start to move a little faster than they have the past couple days and hopefully we bring some closure to those on Maui,” he added.
Pelletier urged families with missing loved ones to provide DNA samples to help identify recovered bodies, stating that some of the remains are so fragile “they fall apart” when recovery officials touch them, the New York Post reported.
Maui’s fire chief, Bradford Ventura, emphasized to family members and survivors frustrated with the lengthy process to understand that conditions in the area remained hazardous. “None of the fires are 100% contained right now,” Ventura stated, adding that as such, there was potential for another rapid fire situation.
“It’s still very very hazardous in the burn areas. Things are falling every minute around us and there have been some people hurt,” Ventura stated.