Grieving Dominicans Start Burying 220 Victims Of Nightclub Disaster

Grief-stricken Dominicans on Thursday began holding funerals for loved ones who were among at least 220 people killed in a nightclub rooftop collapse, even as dozens remained unaccounted for.

More than 300 rescuers, aided by sniffer dogs, have worked tirelessly since disaster struck early Tuesday to pull survivors from the rubble of the Jet Set club in the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo.

Officials called off the search for live victims on Wednesday night, as efforts shifted to recovering bodies from the mounds of twisted steel, zinc and brick that remain of the structure.

Local media had reported there were between 500 and 1,000 people at the club for a concert by renowned merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was on stage when the roof came down. The 69-year-old died on site, but his daughter made it out alive.

Juan Manuel Mendez, director of the Center for Emergency Operations, put the official death toll at 221 on Thursday, and said 189 people were pulled out of the debris alive.

A consolidated report of victims will be published in the coming hours, Mendez told reporters, as the Dominican Republic observed three days of national mourning.

"Our rescue team is already concluding the search operations," he added.

Health Minister Victor Atallah said earlier there could be more bodies under the rubble in the Caribbean nation's worst tragedy in decades.

"No one will be left unidentified. No one will be left without an answer," he told reporters. "We are going to move every last stone that needs to be moved."

The Dominican presidency announced a commission of national and international experts will be set up to investigate the calamity.

President Luis Abinader on Thursday attended a memorial for Perez at the National Theater, where family, friends and fans released white balloons as the hearse departed with his remains.

"My soul is on the verge of exploding with love," Perez's daughter Zulinka chanted at the ceremony -- a lyric from one of the many tunes her father had sung to her as a child.

Perez's coffin was surrounded by wreaths and topped with the artist's signature hat and glasses.

"Rubby is history, Rubby is a people's artist, humble, who came out of poverty," fan Alina Caminero, 56, told AFP outside the venue. His beloved songs include "Buscando Tus Besos" and "Volvere."

In the neighboring community of Haina, families held a collective ceremony for about 20 victims, their coffins lined up side-by-side on a basketball court.

A provisional list of the deceased included a Haitian, an Italian, two French citizens and an American.

Among the dead were the governor of the Monte Cristi province, Nelsy Cruz, as well as former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.

More than 500 people were injured.

Families gathered at funeral homes Thursday to begin the mourning process, while others were still waiting at hospitals for news about missing loved ones.

"This has been a very hard process, because yesterday we spent the day going from clinic to clinic, from hospital to hospital and also in front of the Jet Set, looking for our brothers with the hope of finding them alive," 47-year-old Jose Santana, who lost four family members in the accident, told AFP at the morgue.

"Unfortunately, this morning we were told that they are all dead."

A list of names of deceased people was put up on a tent erected near the morgue.

"No pathology institute has the capacity to handle so many bodies so quickly," said Atallah, adding that temporary centers will be set up to speed up identification processes.

Aerial images of the site showed a scene resembling the aftermath of an earthquake, with a gaping hole where the roof of the club -- a fixture of Santo Domingo's nightlife for half a century -- had been.

A video posted on social media showed the venue suddenly plunged into darkness while Perez was singing, followed by crashing sounds and screams.

Artists from the Dominican Republic joined the chorus of voices mourning the tragedy via social media Thursday.

Actress Zoe Saldana, the first American of Dominican descent to win an Oscar, posted "In times of loss, we must unite in solidarity and compassion."

Saldana and fellow Dominican Cardi B posted a black ribbon in their stories to express grief.