On Friday, family members persisted in gathering outside the forensics institute in the Dominican Republic, insistent on retrieving the bodies of their loved ones. Amid concerns over a bad odor, many donned face masks while scrutinizing screens displaying victim names in different colors. Names in black signified bodies available for release yet unclaimed, while those in green indicated identification by relatives.

Under a canopy, government officials conferred with family members, who submitted official documents to obtain their relatives’ remains. Tired and agitated, some families voiced dissatisfaction with the slow progress, while others, like Rosa Eridania Reyes, who awaited the body of her children’s father and a security guard at the Jet Set Disco, demanded justice. “Do only celebrities get mourners? Workers do too; they’re fathers and mothers of families as well,” she stated.

The Jet Set Nightclub tragedy has left the Dominican Republic in mourning, with authorities reporting 221 deaths and over 200 injuries. Almost two dozen survivors remain hospitalized, some critically. The cause of the roof collapse remains undetermined, though a technical team has been established to investigate. By late Wednesday, the search for victims and survivors ended after 53 consecutive hours. By Friday, the frenzied activity at the nightclub had subsided. The interior, cleared of debris, showed some furniture unsettlingly intact. Outside, rain-soaked flowers and condolence messages remained.

Source: http://www.africanews.com/2025/04/12/after-53-hour-search-families-await-answers-in-dominican-nightclub-collapse/