Investigators continue to search for survivors after 218 people are pronounced dead following a roof collapse at a Dominican Republic nightclub on Tuesday morning.
Video footage from inside the Jet Set Club shows the moments before tragedy strikes. Officials say at least 300 people were inside the club. So far, only 189 have been rescued.
Among the dead are merengue icon Rubby Pérez, who performed on stage moments before the collapse, and former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco.
Grieving families visited the nightclub throughout the day, adding pictures of their loved ones to the memorial surrounding its perimeter.
In New York City, local Dominicans held flags and shed tears during a vigil honoring the lives of those killed.
The cause of the collapse is still unknown. Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, declared three days of mourning following one of the deadliest events in the nation’s history.
“All the victims that perished in this horrible event, our hearts are with you,” said Elida Almonte, a member of Alianza Dominicana, an arts center in New York City. “We have mothers, fathers, sisters, friends that we lost, and today our nation is full of pain because of this.”
