Washington — At least 36 people have been confirmed dead in the wildfire on Hawaii's Maui island, Maui County said in a statement on its website late Wednesday.
"As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire. No other details are available at this time," the brief statement said.
Hours earlier, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen had put the death toll at six. It was unclear whether the death toll was expected to keep rising in the fires that were still active and raging out of control in the hard-hit coastal town of Lahaina, a picturesque destination popular with tourists visiting the US archipelago in the Pacific.
Dozens were also reported injured, said the TV station Hawaii News Now. People suffering from burn injuries and smoke inhalation were taken to hospital.
Hundreds of buildings in Lahaina's historic town centre were destroyed and large parts of the harbour also suffered severe damage, officials said.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green called it a "terrible disaster.
Witnesses described apocalyptic scenes, as people resorted to jumping into the sea to flee from the rapidly spreading flames. The Coast Guard later said more than a dozen were rescued from the water, according to CNN.
One resident, whose home was reportedly burned down, was quoted by Hawaii News Now as saying: "We’ve still got dead bodies floating on the seawall. They’ve been sitting there since last night. We’ve been pulling people out since last night, trying to save peoples’ lives."
A state of emergency was declared for both Maui and Hawaii counties.
There were two other uncontrolled large fires on the island, said Hawaii News Now. Fires were also raging on the neighbouring Big Island, the largest in chain of islands.
Parts of Maui are experiencing drought conditions.
Hurricane Dora, passing through the south of the US state's islands, helped accelerate the fires with its strong winds, said authorities.
US President Joe Biden pledged federal assistance to the state and deployed the National Guard and Navy. The Department of Transportation will help fly vacationers out of Maui, a statement said.
Any travel to Maui was strongly advised against. Deputy Governor Sylvia Luke said the island was not a safe place. The state of emergencies were intended to keep tourists away, she added.
Maui County urged tourists to leave the island as soon as possible. It said there were empty seats on flights from Kahului Airport in the east of the island, and advised people to call the airlines to reserve a seat beforehand.
In West Maui, however, there was still no electricity and no mobile or landline connections.
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