At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, with desperate residents jumping into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames.
US Coast Guard officers plucked at least a dozen people from the water as emergency services were overwhelmed by a disaster that appeared to have erupted almost without warning.
“I’m sad to report that just before coming on this, it was confirmed we’ve had six fatalities,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen told a press conference.
“We are still in a search and rescue mode and so I don’t know what will happen to that number.”
Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke issued an emergency proclamation and told CNN the hospital system on the island of Maui “was overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation.”
“911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down,” she said.
Lahaina, a tourist town of 12,000 on the northwestern tip of Maui, lay in ruins, said Governor Josh Green.বিস্তারিত