Dozens of desperate relatives waited in tents at the forensic morgue in Santo Domingo, the capital city where the Jet Set club’s roof caved in on hundreds of people gathered to see merengue singer Rubby Perez in the early hours of Tuesday.
Many other families, though, still await closure before they can start the grieving process following the Caribbean nation’s worst tragedy in decades.
The office of president Abinader on Friday put the final death toll at 221, with 189 people pulled alive from the rubble of the popular nightclub now reduced to mounds of twisted steel, zinc and brick.
A video posted on social media showed the venue, which could hold 1,700 guests, suddenly plunged into darkness while Perez was singing, followed by crashing sounds and screams.
Waiting at the morgue Friday was Esperanza Dominguez, who told AFP she had yet to find her missing relative’s face in photos of the dead being circulated by forensic teams working to identify the victims.
Fany Martinez, 46, waited for news on her sister who lived in Spain and was in Santo Domingo on a visit.
The extent of the tragedy has outstripped capacity.
He had vowed, however, that “no one will be left unidentified... We are going to move every last stone that needs to be moved.”
Some reported errors, however.
“They gave us a bag and we said we had to open it to see if it was her, but it wasn’t... We want them to give us the right one so her mom can see her and go to bury her.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Abinader Friday “to express his deepest condolences,“ department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
What, why, how
The mayor’s office had provided six funeral homes with 170 coffins free of charge.
Hundreds of rescuers, aided by sniffer dogs, have worked tirelessly since Tuesday to pull survivors from the rubble.
Abinader on Friday pledged to find out “what happened, why it happened, how it happened.”
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