Hawaii fires: number of fatalities drops to 97 as DNA tests help identify victims

Police chief confirmed number of missing had also dropped from 41 to 31 and that 74 of the deceased had been identified

The number of confirmed fatalities from the Maui wildfires is at least 97 people, a lower death toll than what officials had previously announced, Hawaii governor Josh Green said in an interview on CNN on Friday.

State leaders said last month that at least 115 people had died in the 8 August blaze but on Friday said new testing showed they were counting multiple DNA samples from some of the victims. John Pelltier, the Maui police chief, said in a press conference that the number of missing people had also dropped from 41 to 31. And so far, 74 of the deceased have been positively identified.