Hawaii officials urge families of people missing after fires to give DNA samples

Crosses honouring the victims killed in the wildfire hang on a fence along the Lahaina Bypass (Jae C. Hong, AP)

Authorities in Hawaii have pleaded with relatives of people missing after the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples.

They said the low number provided threatens to hinder efforts to identify any remains discovered in the rubble.