With forensic teams called in from around the United States, pathology experts struggled to identify victims of an inferno and stampede at a Rhode Island nightclub that killed at least 96 people and injured more than 180.
As the agonizing task of attaching names to charred bodies continued, with only 15 identified by late Saturday, police and federal agents tried to pin down responsibility for the blaze, set off by a pyrotechnics display at The Station nightclub on Thursday night at the start of a rock show.
It was one of the worst nightclub disasters ever in the United States.
The fire was ignited when pyrotechnics were touched off as the heavy metal band Great White kicked off their set. Video footage taken from inside the club showed sparks from the band's special effects sparking the fast-moving fire, which prompted a stampede toward the exits by panicked fans.
In dispute is whether the band requested permission for the display, and if it did, if the club's owners indeed authorized it, authorities said. Fireworks were not allowed in The Station, fire officials say. The club's owners and the band's management have traded accusations over the tragedy.
Around 80 people remained hospitalized yesterday with roughly 20 in critical condition.
Investigators were also probing whether the club's capacity limit of 300 was exceeded.
At the club in downtown West Warwick, authorities yesterday escorted mourners past the blackened wreckage of the building. People walked along a police cordon depositing flowers at a makeshift memorial, draped with black cloth and festooned with American flags, on a rainy, chilly New England day.