Grief and frustration continue to mount in the Dominican Republic as families anxiously wait for news days after a nightclub roof collapse in Santo Domingo killed at least 222 people.
The tragedy, which struck in the early hours of Tuesday, has become one of the Caribbean nation’s deadliest disasters in decades.
Dozens of distraught relatives have gathered in tents outside the capital’s forensic morgue, hoping for confirmation and the return of their loved ones’ bodies.
The collapse occurred at the Jet Set nightclub, where hundreds had gathered to watch 69-year-old merengue star Rubby Perez perform.
The singer survived the incident and was honoured at a ceremony on Thursday, attended by President Luis Abinader and his daughter Zulinka, who also escaped unharmed.
For many, however, there has been no such closure. “It is distressing; it is something you cannot imagine… the wait for the bodies is exasperating,” said Yuni Garcia, whose brother, a club security guard, was among the dead but has not yet been formally identified.
Initial figures released by the president’s office put the death toll at 221, with 189 survivors pulled from the rubble.
However, a woman later died in the hospital from injuries sustained during the collapse, bringing the confirmed death toll to 222, according to the national health agency.
Drone footage of the site revealed a massive hole where the club’s roof had once stood, resembling the aftermath of a natural disaster. One video shared on social media captured the moment of the collapse—lights cutting out mid-performance, followed by crashing sounds and screams.
At the morgue on Friday, Esperanza Dominguez was still searching for her missing family member among the images shown on screens displaying the names and faces of identified victims. “I am worn out; I am going crazy because… of the many things I have seen,” she said.
Fany Martinez, 46, was awaiting news of her sister, who had been visiting from Spain. “We have been waiting for many days, many days of uncertainty… It has been very hard; it has been very difficult for us,” she said.
Health Minister Victor Atallah admitted that the scale of the disaster had overwhelmed the country’s resources. “No pathology institute can handle so many bodies so quickly,” he said, although he pledged that no one would be left unidentified.
By Friday, autopsies had been completed on 191 victims. Officials said they were on track to finish all identifications and return the bodies to families by 2:00 am on Saturday.
However, some families have reported mistakes in the identification process. Julio Alberto Acosta, whose stepdaughter died in the collapse, said, “They gave us a body that wasn’t hers… We want them to give us the right one so her mum can see her and go to bury her.”
Victims include two retired Major League Baseball players, a provincial governor, and several foreign nationals, including an Italian, a Haitian, two French citizens, and “several” Americans, according to the US State Department. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed his condolences in a call to President Abinader on Friday.
In response to the disaster, 12 additional forensic pathologists have been brought in to speed up the identification process, while six funeral homes have received 170 coffins free of charge from the mayor’s office.
The government has extended its three-day national mourning period until Sunday and has launched a commission of local and international experts to investigate the cause of the collapse.
Rescue operations, supported by sniffer dogs and hundreds of workers, continued into Wednesday before the focus shifted to recovery.
President Abinader on Friday vowed that the authorities would uncover the truth. “We will find out what happened, why it happened, and how it happened,” he said.
