Previously officials said they believed at least 115 people had died in the fires, but further testing showed they had multiple DNA samples from some of those who died.
John Byrd, laboratory director with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said during a press conference Friday afternoon that the current number of dead should be considered a minimum, because it’s possible that toll could rise.
Byrd said the initial death tally was too high for several reasons, adding that the lower tally now was the “normal and natural” progression of the long-term forensics investigation.“We look at body bags that come in and we do an initial inventory and we assess how many people are represented there,” he said.
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