‘Hundreds of Filipinos missing in Hawaii wildfires’

By Rey E. Requejo

AN official of the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce in Hawaii said hundreds of Filipinos are among the more than 1,000 missing in the wildfires in Lahaina on Maui Island in Hawaii.

"Just not to exaggerate, hundreds of Filipinos are missing," Kit Zulueta Furukaw, director of the Maui Filipino

Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with GMA news.

Furukaw said Filipinos comprise the second largest population on the island of Maui.

“The majority of the workforce are Filipino, and many of our hotels are there, so there's a lot of hospitality, a lot of small businesses, and a lot of new generation families in Lahaina are

Filipinos. Homes are gone, our friends just left there. It's pretty bad over here," Furukaw said.

Authorities said the death toll has so far reached 93 but said the number could still go up as search teams with cadaver dogs look for bodies.

The Maui wildfires fanned by winds of a distant hurricane erupted Tuesday and have torched 1,000 buildings and left thousands homeless.

"The number of casualties is still going up; we don't know who they are yet, so search and rescue is still ongoing. We have many, many names in shelters. We have papers upon papers with names of people missing, so search and rescue is still ongoing.