The disaster at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo sent shockwaves through the Caribbean nation, a major tourism destination.
Perez himself died in the calamity, as well as two former Major League Baseball players among the party-goers.
Juan Manuel Mendez, director of emergency operations, said rescue crews still had “24 to 36 hours of work left” to find survivors.
‘A lot of pain’
“Yesterday, I was certain (of finding him), I had hope. But in the early hours of the morning... they pulled four dead people out of there,“ he told AFP, his voice breaking.
Over 300 rescue workers continued combing through mounds of fallen bricks, steel bars and tin sheets, supported by firefighters from Puerto Rico and Israel.
Mercedes Lopez said she was in a lot of pain as she waited to learn the fate of her son at a tent next to the nightclub where the bodies were being brought and the names of the dead were listed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent his condolences Wednesday and said at least one US citizen was among the victims.
Merengue ‘idol’ mourned
A video posted on social media showed the venue suddenly plunged into darkness while Perez was singing.
Tributes to the singer, known for hits such as “Volvere” and “Enamorado de Ella,“ poured in from across Latin America.
Perez’s former band leader Wilfrido Vargas said he was “devastated.”
The baseball world mourned the death of Octavio Dotel, a 51-year-old baseball pitcher who won the World Series with the St Louis Cardinals in 2011 and Tony Blanco, 45, who also played in the United States.
President Luis Abinader declared three days of national mourning.
Iris Pena, a woman who had attended the show, recounted how she escaped with her son.
“A stone fell and cracked the table where we were, and we got out,“ Pena recounted. “The impact was so strong, as if it had been a tsunami or an earthquake.”
The club said Tuesday saying it was working with authorities to probe the disaster.
In 2005, more than 130 prisoners in the east of the country died in a fire caused by a fight between inmates.
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