Hawaii wildfires leave HUNDREDS missing as stricken relatives plead for information and officials say Ohau is still open for business
- Officials have confirmed that the death toll is currently at 36, but could rise
- Locals have created a document to log any loved ones missing on the island
- Tourists have been trapped on the island after dozens of flights were canceled
- LIVE BLOG: Maui fires live updates: At least 36 dead as thousands flee ‘unprecedented’ disaster
Terrified relatives are pleading for information about missing loved ones as fires continue to ravage Hawaii and thousands of tourists desperately try to flee the stricken island.
Authorities confirmed that at least 36 people have been killed in the wildfires, with locals fearing that the death toll will continue to rise and warning that it is a ‘mass casualty event’.
Maui firefighters and emergency services are overwhelmed with the scale of the blaze in the historic town of Lahaina – where 800 hectares of land and 271 buildings have been ‘decimated’.
It has left hundreds of people missing, with relatives desperately searching for any sign that they might have been rescued or found shelter after fleeing.
Horrifying footage shot from a plane landing in Maui shows the extent of the fires which continue to ravage the small island.
The fires have devastated the tiny island, leaving hundreds of residents and tourists missing. Pictured: Victoria-Eugene and Eric Recolizado with their son Justin who are missing
Horrifying footage shot from a plane landing in Maui shows the extent of the fires which continue to ravage the small island
Locals have set up a document for relatives to list the last place their loved ones were seen, though authorities are yet to set up any official way or reporting anyone missing.
Maui resident Dustin Kaleiopu said that he was searching for his extended family, with ‘so many people’ still missing.
Speaking to CNN he added: ‘So many people have gone missing. I will say that that is an unspoken fact that the death toll is way higher than 36.
‘And we just hope that it is not confirmed to be, like I said, too much higher than that number. But there was a mass casualty event that happened this week.
‘I wasn’t home when the fire started. I was staying at my brother’s house like a mile or two away from home, and I live with my dad and my grandpa,’ he said.
‘My dad called me and said, ‘Hey, I heard there is a fire, I can’t get in touch with your grandpa. Go and check on him.”
‘My brother ends up joining us, and we fall asleep because there was nothing else to do. Everything was closed — no electricity,’
‘We had to wait until everything was on fire because we had no ability to know really how much of it was really going on,’
The Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed that Maui’s Kahului Airport is open, with thousands stranded there trying to escape the island
State officials are working with hotels and airlines to try to evacuate thousands of tourists to another island
Maui resident Dustin Kaleiopu said that he was searching for his extended family, with ‘so many people’ still missing
Airports in Maui are still ‘operating efficiently’, with officials confirming that Oahu and Kauai are still open for business despite the evacuation efforts
Kaleiopu’s father drove by his brother less than an hour later, after catching sight of him in the traffic evacuating the tiny town.
‘When my dad realized that it was my brother, he completely lost it,’ Kaleiopu said. ‘Because he had assumed that everybody had died in the fire just by how drastic things had been when he got there after being at work all day.’
Hundreds of people are still missing on the island, with concerned relatives posting on social media in a bid to locate them.
Family members have been urged to contact the Red Cross as well as local hospitals in a bid to locate their relatives, after communication lines have been severed due to the level of destruction by the fire.
State officials are working with hotels and airlines to try to evacuate thousands of tourists to another island.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed that Maui’s Kahului Airport is open, with thousands stranded there trying to escape the island.
Blake and Linda Matsui are amongst those who have vanished, with their families putting out a desperate plea to help track them down
Bill Seidl, 74, (left) is also missing in the wildfires, with his daughter reaching out to the Red Cross to try to locate him
The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street
Officials were left scrambling to evacuate the thousands of visitors to the island, and are preparing to move those unable to return to their homes to the Hawaii Convention Center, along with displaced Maui residents
Airports in Maui are still ‘operating efficiently’, with officials confirming that Oahu and Kauai are still open for business despite the evacuation efforts
Ed Sniffen, director of the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, confirmed that nonessential inbound travel to Maui is strongly discouraged.
He estimated that around 2,000 people stayed overnight in the airport, with a further 4,000 visitors trying to leave the island from the west side.
Airports in Maui are still ‘operating efficiently’, with officials confirming that Oahu and Kauai are still open for business despite the evacuation efforts.
Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all are offering travel waivers for travel to Maui allowing passengers to change plans without penalty.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier plans to operate all of the scheduled flights to and from Kahului Airport in Maui on Thursday.
A spokeswoman said the carrier has ‘added an additional flight and upgraded an aircraft today to ensure customers evacuating OGG are able to do so.’
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier plans to operate all of the scheduled flights to and from Kahului Airport in Maui on Thursday
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement that West Maui is the area that travelers need to avoid, adding: ‘Visitors with travel plans to stay in other parts of Maui and the Kohala Coast of Hawaiʻi Island in the coming weeks are encouraged to contact their hotels for updated information and how their travel plans may be affected.’
Officials were left scrambling to evacuate the thousands of visitors to the island, and are preparing to move those unable to return to their homes to the Hawaii Convention Center, along with displaced Maui residents.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority worked with the American Red Cross to set up the assistance center, with shuttle buses taking the stranded from Honolulu’s airport every 20 minutes.
To help people get out of Maui as quickly as possible Hawaiian Airlines says it’s added flights and is offering low $19 fares main cabin fares.
‘We’re doing what we can to provide resources to take care of our employees, and we’re doing what we can to take care of our guests,’ said Hawaiian Air CEO Peter Ingram.
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