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305 claims approved for Pulse shooting victims' fund

ORLANDO, Fla. — Officials with a fund created from donations for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting said they will distribute $29.5 million on 305 claims when the process is completed.

Officials with OneOrlando Fund said Friday that $27.4 million has been distributed for 299 claims so far.

Officials said six claims remain unpaid because family members haven't agreed about who should get the money.

Fund officials said 348 claims were submitted but 43 claims were deemed ineligible, primarily because the claimant wasn't inside the nightclub.

Forty-nine people were killed and dozens of others injured in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Estates of the deceased patrons each received $350,000.

Surviving patrons got anywhere from $25,000 to $300,000 each, depending on whether they were injured and the extent of their injuries.

Special Section: Pulse Orlando Shooting

"For the 53 survivors, it was very important that they had access to this money. A lot of them lost their homes while they were in the hospital," said Gabriel Martinez of the LGBT Center.

Martinez said some survivors used the cash to buy a new home or car, and many paid off bills that stacked up while they were out of work.

"They've basically utilized the money to get back to a normal sense of life. Something that we have taken for granted, but they have to learn the hard way, unfortunately," said Martinez.

The fund will still have at least $655,000 left over when it closes January 1.

Martinez said she is hoping the money will go to programs helping survivors and a memorial at the Pulse site.

"What I'm afraid is going to happen is that we're going to create another bar or another something and eventually we're going to lose the sense of what really happened here in Orlando, and we don't want that day to be forgotten," said Martinez.

The board for the OneOrlando fund will decide how that money should be used next year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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