Officials scramble to identify victims of Dominican club roof collapse

Officials are scrambling to identify victims killed when the roof of an iconic nightclub collapsed in Santo Domingo on Tuesday. The death toll has surged to 221 people with hundreds more injured.

Outside the city's morgue, families have been gathering for days, hoping to find their loved ones. An official from the Forensic Institute held a microphone and described some characteristics of the bodies inside. “A little tattoo on the right wrist,” shouted the official, while family members held photographs of their loved ones still missing.

Octavio Dotel, who pitched for 13 major league baseball teams in a 15-year career and won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was among the dead when the roof collapsed in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert. He was 51.

“All of us who played against him or who were able to play with him know that he was a cheerful person and that he had an amalgam within his personality that knew how to make everyone feel good. It is a very strong loss for us.” Miguel Batista, former MLB player told reporters.

Tributes have also been pouring in for the merengue singer who was also killed that faithful Tuesday night, Rubby Perez.

The legendary artist was killed while performing at the Jet Set club.

Thousands turned out to pay their respects to Perez at a public tribute at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, on Thursday. Fans, fellow musicians, and cultural authorities gathered to celebrate Pérez's contributions to Dominican music.