BUENOS AIRES, April 11 — The death toll from the collapse of a nightclub roof in the Dominican Republic has jumped to 221, the head of the civil protection agency said on Thursday, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
Another 189 people have been rescued from the rubble and brought to hospital after parts of the roof of nightclub Jet Set collapsed early on Tuesday, said Juan Manuel Méndez.
Emergency responders continue to search for bodies, according to the official.
"We are leaving no one behind," he said, while cautioning that no survivors have been found since Tuesday afternoon.
Dominican Republic authorities said Wednesday evening that the search and rescue operation launched after the deadly collapse has been replaced by a "body recovery phase".
Hundreds of party-goers were in the club during a concert by the merengue singer Rubby Pérez when the accident occurred.
Pérez, who was popular in Latin America, also died in the collapse.
Monte Cristi province's regional governor Nelsy Cruz was also killed, her brother said in an Instagram post.
Major League Baseball said former baseball player Tony Blanco, who played in the US for nine years and eight more in Japan, also died.
The cause of the roof's collapse was initially unclear.
Families were lining up outside the forensics institute in Santo Domingo for the bodies of their loved ones to be released, the Listin Diario daily reported.
The city administration made available 150 plots in the Cristo Redentor graveyard to allow people to bury their relatives for free.
"I thank God that we are still alive. Iti s very hard what we have been through. We have lost many friends," Marisol Chalas, who was rescued from the rubble with her husband and is being treated in hospital, told Diario Libre newspaper.
— Bernama
