First victims names released in Maui fire as death toll continues to rise

Lahaina, MAUI — The first victims from the deadly wildfires that swept Maui island last week have been identified by officials.

Maui's police department named the first two victims as Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79, both from the town of Lahaina.

The death toll from the fires has now reached 111 according to CNN with about 1300 missing.

It is likely to take several more days for authorities to reach an accurate figure for the number who died, Hawaii's Governor Josh Green has said.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the families who are beginning to receive notifications about their loved ones," said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. "As a community, we offer our prayers of comfort in this most difficult time."

He said authorities identified three other individuals, whose next of kin would be informed.

US President Joe Biden has said he will travel to Hawaii "as soon as he can" amid criticism of his government's response.

The president said on Tuesday he had not yet visited because of concerns that doing so would divert resources and attention from the humanitarian response. Jill Biden would accompany him to Hawaii, he said.

"I don't want to get in the way. I've been to too many disaster areas," Biden said. "I want to be sure we don't disrupt ongoing recovery efforts."

He said "all available federal assets" in the region would be used for recovery efforts, including the US military and Coast Guard.