Terrified family members beg for information on missing loved ones as fires continue to ravage Hawaii and thousands of tourists desperately try to flee the stricken island.
Authorities have confirmed that at least 36 people have died in the bushfires, with locals fearing the death toll will continue to rise and warning it is a ‘mass casualty event’.
Maui firefighters and emergency services have been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the blaze in the historic city of Lahaina – where 800 acres of land and 271 buildings have been “decimated.”
It has hundreds of people missing as relatives desperately search for any sign that they may have been rescued or found shelter after fleeing.
Horrifying footage captured from a plane that landed in Maui shows the extent of the fires that continue to ravage the tiny island.
The fires have devastated the small island and left hundreds of residents and tourists missing. Pictured: Victoria-Eugene and Eric Recolizado with their missing son Justin
Horrifying footage captured of a plane landing in Maui shows the extent of the fires that continue to ravage the tiny island
Locals have prepared a document for relatives to list the last place their loved ones were seen, though authorities have yet to set up an official way or report anyone missing.
Dustin Kaleiopu, a Maui resident, said he was looking for his extended family while “so many people” are still missing.
Speak against CNN he added, “There are so many people missing. I will say it is an unspoken fact that the death toll is much higher than 36.
And we just hope it’s not confirmed that, as I said, it’s too much higher than that number. But there was a mass casualty this week.
“I wasn’t home when the fire started. I was staying at my brother’s house, about two kilometers from home, and I live with my father and grandfather,” he said.
“My dad called me and said, ‘Hey, I heard there’s a fire, I can’t contact your grandpa. Go check on him.”
“My brother ends up with 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 couldn’t really know how much was really going on’
The Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed Maui’s Kahului Airport is open, with thousands stranded trying to flee the island
State officials are working with hotels and airlines to evacuate thousands of tourists to another island
Dustin Kaleiopu, a Maui resident, said he was looking for his extended family as ‘so many people’ are still missing
Airports in Maui are still operating ‘efficiently’, with officials confirming Oahu and Kauai are still open for business despite evacuation efforts
Kaleiopu’s father drove past his brother less than an hour later, after seeing him in traffic leaving the small town.
“When my father realized it was my brother, he completely lost it,” Kaleiopu said. “Because he had assumed that everyone had died in the fire, just from the dramatic events when he arrived there after a full day’s work.”
Hundreds of people are still missing on the island, with concerned family members posting on social media in an attempt to locate them.
Relatives have been urged to contact the Red Cross and local hospitals in an effort to locate their relatives after lines of communication were cut due to the devastation from the fire.
State officials are working with hotels and airlines to evacuate thousands of tourists to another island.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation confirmed that Maui’s Kahului Airport is open, with thousands of people stranded trying to flee the island.
Blake and Linda Matsui are among those who have disappeared, and their families are calling desperately to help track them down
Bill Seidl, 74, (left) is also missing in the bushfires, while his daughter contacts the Red Cross to locate him
The hall of the historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and the nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission go up in flames along Wainee Street
Officials rushed to evacuate the island’s thousands of visitors 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 Oahu and Kauai are still open for business despite evacuation efforts
Ed Sniffen, director of the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, confirmed that non-essential inbound travel to Maui is strongly discouraged.
He estimated that about 2,000 people spent the night at the airport, while another 4,000 visitors tried 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 despite evacuation efforts.
Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all offer travel waivers for travel to Maui, allowing passengers to change their plans without penalty.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the airline plans to operate all scheduled flights to and from Kahului Airport in Maui on Thursday.
A spokeswoman said the airline “added an additional flight today and upgraded an aircraft to ensure that customers evacuating OGG can do so.”
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement that West Maui is the area travelers should avoid, adding, “Visitors with travel plans to stay in other parts of Maui and the Kohala Coast of Hawai’i Island in the coming weeks should are encouraged to contact their hotels for updated information and how their travel plans may be affected.”
Officials attempted to evacuate the island’s thousands of visitors and are preparing to move those unable to return to their homes, along with displaced Maui residents, to the Hawaii Convention Center.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority partnered with the American Red Cross to set up the assistance center, with shuttle buses taking stranded guests from the Honolulu airport every 20 minutes.
To help people get out of Maui as quickly as possible, Hawaiian Airlines says it has added flights and is offering low fares of $19 for main cabins.
“We are doing what we can to provide resources to care for our employees, and we are doing what we can to care for our guests,” said Hawaiian Air CEO Peter Ingram.